Aspen, CO

[Anonymous]

Headed there for a family vacation later this summer with our adult kids. Anyone have any recommendations for activities, restaurants, etc.? Driving from Denver and would like to stop someplace scenic for lunch...any ideas?

[Anonymous]

Take the trip up to the Maroon Bells for a day of hiking. It’s spectacular.

[Anonymous]

Stop in Frisco for lunch on the way there. There is a ton of hiking that is beautiful around Aspen - download the Alltrails app and pick something that grabs your fancy. Maroon Bells is great but you need to take a shuttle bus to get there and the buses will have limited passenger capabilities due to covid. Lots of great restaurants in town but make reservations early so you don't get shut out.

[Anonymous]

My favorite comment from my spouse while there (we camped, couldn't afford the hotels):

"There's lots of rich White people here."

[Anonymous]

I've only been recently in winter so can't comment on activities, but for restaurants we loved Meat & Cheese. Also like L'Hostaria - there is a fancy side and a more casual side - I've been to both but not sure the menu is that different.

The Aspen Art Museum is worth a visit. Small but the exhibits were interesting and even included a Kusama infinity mirror room last time we were there (it was a temporary exhibit though).

[Anonymous]

Drive over Independence Pass to Leadville - spectacular mountain road. There's a trail near the pass that goes by 3 different lakes. Leadville has a cool history and there are some good hikes near there.

The Grottos trail near Aspen - but it gets crowded

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My favorite comment from my spouse while there (we camped, couldn't afford the hotels):

"There's lots of rich White people here."

He is correct.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for those who replied with helpful recommendations.
And to the other posters with non-helpful replies--we are going to Aspen because we have family there and a wedding to attend. We may be white, but certainly not rich.

[Anonymous]

we went here over thanksgiving as non-rich white people. I actually thought the crowd was more divserse and cosmopolitan than other resort towns (but definitely rich - no t shirt shops).

sushi : Jing (best sushi dinner I had ever had - apparently its flown in fresh)
Pizza : Aspen Pie Shop (giant slices that look as thick as lasagna)
Burger : CP Burger (near the skate rink- pretty good)

we went during covid so did all take out meals. 2 families with 4 kids and were happy with all of hte above. I think we did some meat and cheeses from Meat and Cheese store.

for non-skiing we enjoyed hiking around the town in the various trails and fat tire bike. I am sure summer is totally different than winter. The town of Carbondale has some cool looking hot springs that may be worth checking out.