Maroon Bells Parking Question (Seeking Parking Pass)

[gthrockm]

Let's assume I can't find a parking pass for Maroon Lake. I am openly wondering what alternatives might be. May plan is to leave Denver at some point Friday evening (say, 8pm), arrive around midnight, and pull an all-nighter hiking. Here are my ideas. Please let me know if anyone has had recent success doing this. I am open to feedback. Also, I'm interested in your parking pass if you want to give it up! (Flexible on weekend dates)

- Schedule a Lyft / Uber ahead of time to drop me off at Maroon Lake. Assumes that there's a decent market for rideshares in the area and active at this time of night. There's a risk that my driver is a no-show and I'm stuck without a ride.

- Rent an e-bike. It would need to be one of those "access at any time" bike share programs since no one will be up at midnight. I don't even know if those exist for e-bikes.

- Rent a normal bike and bike to the trailhead. Again, it would need to be an "access at any time" bike share programs. This would add mileage and exertion. Plus, I would need to find a place to stash the bike during my hike.

- Walk / hike the road. Sounds miserable.

- I suppose I could rent an e-bike / normal bike in Denver, take it with me, and then e-bike / bike my way to the TH, but I'd have the same issue of needing to find a place to stash it. Sounds dicey.

I am open to other ideas. I searched the forum and couldn't find anything relevant. People seem to secure parking passes or hike when normal people hike (during the day).

[gthrockm]

Reading through the TH description for Maroon Lake, I either don't understand this sentence, it's out of date, or I'm in luck.

"If you plan to arrive at the trailhead early in the morning (definitely before 8am) and day-hike, you can drive up to the trailhead and park in one of the "Day Use" lots"

This tells me I don't need a parking pass. Based on that, I can roll up to the TH at midnight and park in one of the "Day Use" lots. Based on what I've heard about the red tape / logistical challenges of this TH, that doesn't seem accurate. If it were this easy, then why wouldn't everyone just get an early start? (albeit not as crazy early as I'm planning).

I would appreciate your feedback!

[Tim A]

I did some research recently on parking at Maroon Lake and seem to remember reading that ride shares are not allowed up the road at any time. The access limitations up there seem more designed to limit the actual number of people in the area moreso than just managing parking and traffic. It seems like biking the road is the most ‘flexible’ way to get up there with respect to not planning months in advance. Best of luck!

Edit: received an unsolicited pm which shed light on my lack of clarity above. Specifically commercial ride-shares are the ones not allowed, which doesn’t make sense to me, nor the limited times the road-sitters allow drop offs which prevents alpine starts on peaks that really should be climbed early. Again, best of luck.

[Cygnus X1]

gthrockm, PM sent

[Wentzl]

Anyone want to share how it works out if you park in the shuttle lot and just get out there and hitch hike? Seems like time for like minded people to just give a hand and throw big brother down a peg.

[sawyervillers]

Thread hijacking (sort of) -- I want to come out in mid-September (flying from Pittsburgh and renting a car in Denver). There's no day-use or overnight parking passes available on the Aspen website for Maroon access (the first midnight-to-midnight pass is mid-October). Since the shuttle only runs 8-5pm'ish (and realistically, you better be back to the trailhead by 4PM), that's probably not sufficient for me to climb Maroon or Pyramid peaks (not to mention the very late start).

Are there any other legit options for accessing the Maroon trailhead? Can you access with Ebikes? Rentals are currently $100/day (which seems insanely expensive given I'd need several days of rental).

[thebeave7]

I moderate the Four Pass Loop Facebook group, here's a few pieces of info to clarify. Note that the Aspen Chamber and Wilderness is the final word, not websites or our personal opinions.

You need a parking reservation ANY TIME you park in the Maroon Bells parking lot, no matter time of day. You can only drive to the TH between 5p-8a, rest of the time the road is closed to private vehicles.

Parking reservations are almost certainly sold out for most times/days for the summer months.

You can bike/hike the road any time of day, there are several bike racks at the TH. ebike rentals are going to be expensive, it's a tourism money maker.

Uber/Lyft are nearly impossible to find in the Aspen area, and even they aren't allowed to drive up the road between 8a-5p (note, no cell reception at the TH).

The shuttle service only runs from 8a-5p, is mostly by reservation (some walkins) and parking at Aspen Highlands is $30/day, not cheap.

You can sometimes hitch hike the road, I picked up a couple coming out last weekend (I had a parking pass). Though remember that cars are only allowed to drive up the road between 5p-8a.

Eric

[Buckie06]

Most flexible option is to bike/ebike up the road. There's tons of bike racks at the TH, no worry about it being stolen if you have a proper lock.
or
Take an afternoon shuttle to the TH and backpack in to camp. Hike a peak the next day and be back to the TH by the last shuttle (5pm I believe). You can park at the Highlands garage, or park in Aspen for cheaper and take a free bus to the Highlands garage where you pickup the Maroon Bells shuttle.

[sawyervillers]

Most flexible option is to bike/ebike up the road. There's tons of bike racks at the TH, no worry about it being stolen if you have a proper lock.
or
Take an afternoon shuttle to the TH and backpack in to camp. Hike a peak the next day and be back to the TH by the last shuttle (5pm I believe). You can park at the Highlands garage, or park in Aspen for cheaper and take a free bus to the Highlands garage where you pickup the Maroon Bells shuttle.

Do you need a permit to camp overnight backcountry (or at designated spots)? This is by far the best option if I don' t need paperwork.

[dwoodward13]

Most flexible option is to bike/ebike up the road. There's tons of bike racks at the TH, no worry about it being stolen if you have a proper lock.
or
Take an afternoon shuttle to the TH and backpack in to camp. Hike a peak the next day and be back to the TH by the last shuttle (5pm I believe). You can park at the Highlands garage, or park in Aspen for cheaper and take a free bus to the Highlands garage where you pickup the Maroon Bells shuttle.

Do you need a permit to camp overnight backcountry (or at designated spots)? This is by far the best option if I don' t need paperwork.

No permit needed beyond a self issue one at the TH. They will very likely be coming next year however. If camping at Crater Lake, you must camp in one of the designated spots (10 of them or so, first come first served).

[sawyervillers]

Awesome -Thanks all.

[gthrockm]

Appreciate the responses. This is an interesting community. I received two private messages with offers to use their parking reservation that would otherwise go unused. Thanks! I also received a rude, insulting private message from someone looking to pick a fight.

I ended up accepting one of the parking pass offers. Very grateful. I bagged all three: Lightening, Thunder, and then Pyramid. Was a fantastic morning.

On my way out, I stopped and chatted with a park rep at the gate. He gave me some good insight on the parking situation. First hand conversations always trump personal opinions and websites.