Maroon Bells Traverse Colorado 14er Hike Guide

The Maroon Bells Traverse are one of “Four great Colorado Traverses” as coined by Gerry Roach. The peaks can be climbed in either direction, but are popularly hiked Maroon Peak to North Maroon Peak. This is a difficult Class 5 route that has lots of exposure and sustained sections of Class 3, 4 and 5 moves. Maroon Peak is mostly class 3 with lots of loose dirt, scree and gravel. The Maroon Bells Traverse consists of loose rock, red rock and North Maroon Peak has a variety of trail conditions including boulder fields, loose dirt, gravel and rock.

Maroon Bells Traverse Quick Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Maroon Bells Traverse

Maroon Bells Traverse Rating: ★★★★ (4/5 Stars)

Distance: 12 Miles RT (From Maroon Lake) – Distance is approximate 

Elevation Start: 9,400 ft

Highest Point: 14,163 – Maroon Peak, 14,014 North Maroon Peak

Total Elevation Gain: 5,500 ft

Estimated Time to Complete: 13-14 Hours RT (4-5 Hours Up Maroon Peak, 3-4 Hours Traverse, 3-4 Hours down North Maroon Peak)

Difficulty: Strenuous What does this mean?

Class: Class 5 – What does this mean?

Season: May – September – This hike is only safe when weather is clear for the entire day and the rock is dry as a bone.

Check the Weather Forecast

Directions to Maroon Bells Traverse

Trailhead: Maroon Lake

Getting Here: From the roundabout in Aspen, follow Maroon Creek Road until you reach the entrance station of the park. As of 2020 and through at least 2021, reservations will be required for both overnight and day trips to the entire Maroon Bells scenic area. More about that below…

Fees: $10 to enter park

Reservation System: Due to heavy traffic, increasing popularity and COVID-19, the Maroon Bells Traverse and all hiking in the area now requires a reservation between May 14- October 24. There are four options for reservations: day (12AM – 4:30PM), evening (5PM – 12AM), 24 hour (Midnight -Midnight) or two days (6AM -6PM [60 hours]). You can read more about and make a reservation here. If you want to hike without a reservation, you can get dropped off between 6AM and 8AM but you will either need to walk, run, bike or get a one way shuttle ticket out of the park.

Summary

Camping: The most popular spot to camp while hiking the Maroon Bells Traverse would be Crater Lake. Crater Lake has 11 official camping spots to choose from. The first 6 spots are either right on the path or involve a short hike up a hill. Spots 7-11 are a bit farther down past the lake.  For more information about camping during your trip to the Maroon Bells, visit this page. As of March 2021, a bear canister is required for all food during a camping trip due to high bear activity. 

Dogs: You would have to be insane to subject a dog to a hike of the Maroon Bells Traverse. I wouldn’t recommend bring a dog up either Maroon or North Maroon Peak. The rock is too loose, trail is too difficult and there are a number of factors that could result in injury or death to your dog or other humans.

Make it a Loop: The Maroon Bells Traverse is a lollipop loop, starting and ending at Crater Lake, just north of Maroon Lake near the Maroon Bells visitor center.

Trail X Factors: Route Finding & North Maroon Peak

Route finding is so key on the Maroon Bells Traverse. The hike up to Maroon Peak is very straightforward, but once you enter the traverse the “route” is extremely hard to find. Once on the traverse, you need to have solid experience in route finding and be able to problem solve based on the best options to get through each section. It’s fun to problem solve, but make sure the weather is clear for the entire day. This is not the place you want to get stuck with any kind of wet weather.

Once you are done with the Maroon Bells Traverse, you may think: I am in the clear now! Wrong. You are not. The hike down North Maroon Peak requires a lot of attention and energy in its own right. Route finding is fairly easy until you descend the chimney and ledges which can become quite difficult. Trail conditions range from steep packed dirt to steep loose rock with a solid trail difficult to find.

Hike Tip(s):

I have a couple of tips for the Maroon Bells Traverse

1. Check the weather – As mentioned before, this is a hike where you want clear weather for the entire day. Lighting aside, you don’t even want to have wet conditions on this one or it can get extremely dangerous.
2. Take Your Time – This may be hard for those who are used to powering through hikes, but this hike requires your full attention. Whether it be taking the extra few minutes to assess your route or  the extra couple of seconds to test a hold, you want to make sure you are taking full caution on this route.
3. Hike This With a Partner – I love to hike mountains solo (I summited 46+ 14ers by myself). However, on the Maroon Bells Traverse it is very helpful to have a hiking partner to route find, be a spotter on a downclimb (or climb) and enjoy the full awesomeness that is the Maroon Bells Traverse. Unless you have a lot of friends in the hiking community, you can expect most people in your life to not understand the accomplishment once you have completed The Maroon Bells Traverse.
4. If you are looking to avoid a reservation – get dropped off at the Crater Lake Trailhead with a bike and bike back into town – the bike down to Aspen is mostly downhill and you can just use your climbing helmet to bike – classic two-for!

Best Views: Your hike/climb through the Maroon Bells Traverse is packed with good views. On this hike, my favorite views were generally towards the north and west. In terms of exact spots, I enjoyed views on the traverse and on both summits. Of course, I have to mention the view of the Maroon Bells at Maroon Lake, but if you have a pulse, you probably already know about this.

Maroon Bells Traverse Hike Route

Includes some extra hiking from satellite lot and stops at Crater Lake

Gear Needed

• 14er Day Hike Packing List
• Men’s Trail Runners
• Women’s Trail Runners
• La Sportiva Trango Hiking Boots (Men’s)
• La Sportiva Trango Hiking Booths (Women’s)
• Backpack
• Food & Water
• Climbing Helmet
• Optional: Garmin inReach
• Optional: Hiking Poles
• Optional: Headlamp
• Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
• Optional: Camera and Lens
• Optional: GoPro, Joby Tripod
• *Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you

Our Trip to Maroon Bells Traverse: July 2018

Approach

Summertime had officially arrived in Colorado and I was ready to start tackling some technical hikes across the state. After completing the Crestones Traverse  in late 2017, I was itching for another great Colorado Traverse. On an early weekend in July, the weather was looking good, so my buddy Andrew and I hit the road on a Friday, ready to tackle the Maroon Bells Traverse. The plan was to hike up to Crater Lake when we arrived,camp there for the night and begin our trek up the Maroon Bells the next morning.

When we arrived in Aspen, we lucked out and snagged one of the last spots in the overflow parking lot at Maroon Lake. Although this would add a couple of additional miles to the total hike, not having to ride the shuttle bus with a bunch of tourists made it 100% worth it. Upon arriving, we packed up our bags and started the trek towards Maroon Lake. If you are not familiar with Maroon Lake, it’s one of the most photographed spots in the United States. It is a beautiful spot, but we felt so weird carrying days worth of gear and food while walking about people with sandals and jeans on. We took a few pictures and moved on, making our way up to Crater Lake.

Unlike some approaches, the hike to Crater Lake from the parking lot was very short. In total, it was about 2.5 miles which made carrying 30lbs worth of gear fairly easy. We easily found a campsite, set up the tent and ate dinner. Eating dinner next to a high alpine lake while the sun sets over the Maroon Bells Traverse is something that will never get old. After a quick dinner, we hit the hay early, planning on a 3AM wake-up call.

Maroon Peak

I slept about 30 minutes. It was hot. I was anxious. But when the alarm went off at 3AM, I was not ready to go. “Andrew, you cool with sleeping another 30?” “Yeah, no problem.” In reality, I had to pee really bad and didn’t want to get up for the day so thought that delaying our start by 30 minutes might help. It didn’t, I only made it 15 minutes before unzipping the tent. The second alarm went off just as I had zipped the tent close. Perfect timing. When we both emerged from the tent, the stars were shining brightly and we could already see a handful of headlamps working up the trail. It was time to go!

We hit the trail right around 3:45AM, ready to tackle Maroon Peak, our first 14er of the Maroon Bells Traverse. The trail worked through the trees covering the base of The Maroon Bells Traverse before starting to climb the south side of Maroon Peak. Just about halfway up the mountain, the trail started to get really steep with lots of loose gravel and dirt. It was from this point that the hike started to get more difficult. The sun was rising to the east, so we stopped to take some pictures and I ate my “breakfast”. After a few more hours of hiking, we finally gained the south west ridge of Maroon Peak, this is where the fun began. We slowly worked east towards the summit and started several long sections of Class 3 hiking. We found the rock to be variable, very stable in spots, crumbled like a stale cupcake in others. Overall, route finding was fairly easy and we reached the final section of Class 3 and 4 rock. This final gulley had multiple ways to ascend and since we had joined 3 other hikers, everyone gave each other space so if a rock did fall, no one would be in the crossfire. After about 10 minutes of solid Class 3 and 4 climbing, we were only a hundred yards from the summit of Maroon Peak! When I reached the top, we chatted with several other hikers who were already on top, some going for the Maroon Bells Traverse, other intimidated by it and decided to bail. We snapped several pictures, refueled and let the other group get a head start on us before starting the traverse.

Traverse

What is so insane about the Maroon Bells Traverse is that it is only about a high mile of climbing to reach North Maroon Peak. Although the distance was short, the climbing was intense. After a relatively easy descent, we had a serious 30 foot downclimb before reaching the saddle of North Maroon Peak. From here, we could make out a few cairns and followed them as best we could to the first of three towers on the Maroon Bells Traverse. The first tower was relatively easy to navigate, there was a ton of Class 3 and Class 4 hiking, but the rock was fairly solid and we had almost no problem with route finding. After we conquered the first tower, the real fun began. In my head, I thought we had made it to the second tower, because the pictures from another website we had been referencing were way off and hard to follow. We decided that we were only at the second tower and had now been joined by a father and son hiking pair.

All four of us found our next obstacle, a highly exposed class 4 climb over a ledge to regain the ridge. We noticed a belay station at the top of the climb, which made all of us without rope feel a little uneasy. We let the father and son go first so that they could scout out the route ahead of us. When we knew that was the proper route, Andrew and I began the climb. Andrew ascended the steep, exposed pitch and informed me that the handholds were okay, but the foot ones, not as great. After he reached the top, I knew I had no choice, it was time to climb. I have some experience gym climbing but am by no means a rock climber. I remembered the little experience I had to move my feet first and make the work easier on my arms/hands. The first section was very airy, a fall here would result in a tumble over 500 feet and sure death. Neat! I tried to keep all of those thoughts to myself and focused on each small move to work my way up the steep pitch. After a few minutes of swearing to myself and laughing, I had reached the top. (11 minute mark of YouTube Video below).

With the second tower out of the way, we continued our way along The Maroon Bells Traverse to North Maroon Peak’s summit. The third tower was just ahead of us and we discovered two options to ascend: a low Class 5 40 foot chimney that had a ton of exposure or a 25 foot chimney that we considered a medium Class 5 route. Although the lower class 5 route was easier, it was much longer and we both had a better feeling about the more difficult of the two. I decided to go first so that I could get it over with. The chimney had two large rocks in it, creating a roof that forced you to climb about 2 feet out before getting over either of them. To say this section was scary would be doing it an injustice. With Andrew’s help, I found the best route (up the right side) and used a crack to wedge my hands into in order to get leverage. At the crux of the climb, I was forced to just sell out and go for it (This basically means, leaping up and hoping that your holds, hold you). Luckily, all of the holds held and I was able to pull myself up and over the ledge to more stable ground. My adrenaline was pumping but I knew I had to help Andrew up as well. He made the climb with a bit more ease, but felt the same way about the crux of the route. We were both thrilled to be over that challenged and continued up the third tower.

After the Class 5 section, we traversed some more exposed Class 3 rock before regaining the ridge again. From here, we knew that the most difficult climbing was behind, but we still had several Class 3 sections ahead of us. We reached the section of the ridge previously known as the “leap of faith” which was our final section of exposed Class 4 climbing before the summit. A few more sections of Class 3 hiking later, we had reached the top of North Maroon Peak. We had successfully completed the Maroon Bells Traverse! We were both pumped with our accomplishment, but knew we weren’t out of the woods yet.

North Maroon Peak

By the time we had completed the Maroon Bells Traverse, it was about 12:00PM. We refueled and scoped out the route down North Maroon Peak. I knew there was one tough Class 4 section, but thought it was a relatively mellow hike. WRONG. At first, the descent down North Maroon Peak was straightforward: lots of loose rocks and dirt, but plenty of cairns to follow. When we reached the Class 4 chimney, we were both very tired and took it pretty slow. For the entire hike, Andrew had lead most of the tricky ascents while I had led more of the downclimbs, but for some reason I felt so sketchy here. Andrew went first so that I could mirror his route down the steep rock. Although this section was nowhere near as technical or exposed as 90% of what we had hiked all day, it was hard to see any of the footholds, so we were basically blindly lowering ourselves into a 20 foot drop. What made this section extra tricky was that the rock was smoothed out because of all the use over the years and fine dirt covered a lot of the rock slabs. Luckily, we both made it down without an issue.

After the chimney, the real “fun” began. We entered a section of the hike I referred to as the shelves of hell. The trail was impossible to find, the conditions were awful (loose rock and gravel) and both of our legs were about on E. We slowly descended the steep terrain to reach the top of the second gully. We saw some mountain goats in the distance and requested a ride down the rest of the trail. They didn’t seem to be interested because as we hiked closer, the group slowly moved away. We rounded the corner to enter the 1st gully and begin the final descent into a handful of boulder fields. The goats seemed to be mocking us because they followed our same trail down, but just went a million times faster than our tired legs would carry us, almost mocking us with our slow speed. When we reached the boulder field above Crater Lake, Andrew and I were both out of food and water, exhausted and ready to be drinking a cold beer. Unfortunately for us, we still had a while to go.

We started spending hypothetical money for someone to pick us up and carry us down the remaining trail, unfortunately (or fortunately for our wallets), no one came. After a slog of a hike through the boulder fields and the steep dirt trail, we finally reached our campsite along the banks of Crater Lake. Minus a short hike out, we were finally done with the Maroon Bells Traverse.

Overall, I enjoyed about 35% of my hike along the Maroon Bells Traverse. The hike up Maroon Peak was no fun until we reached the final section of Class 3, the traverse was fun but the hike down North Maroon peak was pretty miserable mentally. If someone offered me to do the Maroon Bells Traverse again, I would make them carry me up Maroon Peak and down North Maroon, but I would be happy to reattempt the traverse itself.

Maroon Bells Traverse Virtual Hike Guide