East Maroon Pass

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 2 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 11,396 - 11,800 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 1 hr. 30 mins.
Trailhead: East Maroon Pass
Fee: none
Attractions: Scenic views

East Maroon Pass is located in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area of the Gunnison National Forest near Crested Butte, Colorado. The trail provides passage between the towns of Crested Butte and Aspen by connecting the Copper Creek trail, on the Crested Butte side of the mountains, with the East Maroon trail on the Aspen side. The trail is most popular with backpackers and day hikers that are visiting Copper Lake.

Copper Lake

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 10 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 9,831 - 11,301 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 5 hrs. 30 mins.
Trailhead: Copper Creek 2wd/4wd
Fee: none
Attractions: Scenic lake/alpine views

Copper Lake is located at the end of the Copper Creek trail in the Maroon Bells Wilderness Area of the Gunnison National Forest near Crested Butte, Colorado. The trail begins off of the Gothic Road where it climbs past Judd Falls and up the Copper Creek drainage to Copper Lake. From the lake there are outstanding views of multiple peaks that are over 13,000 feet in elevation including White Rock Mountain (13,539 ft.) and Precarious Peak (13,360 ft.). Many hikers like to continue past Copper Lake to East Maroon Pass where Pyramid Peak (14,019 ft.) comes into view on the Aspen side of the ridge.

Judd Falls

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 1 - 2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 9570 - 9850 feet
Cellphone: 0-2 bars
Time: 1 hr. 30 mins.
Trailhead: Judd Falls/Copper Creek
Fee: none
Attractions: Scenic waterfall

Judd Falls is a popular waterfall hike near Crested Butte, Colorado. The scenic waterfall is located within the Gunnison National Forest on property that is owned by the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. The hike is 1 round trip from the 4wd trailhead and 2 miles round trip from the 2wd trailhead.

Washington Gulch

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 3 - 8.6 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
MTB Skill level:
Elevation: 9,622 - 11,396 feet
Cellphone: 0-2 bars
Time: 5 hrs. 30 mins.
Trailhead: Washington Gulch/Gothic
Fee: none
Attractions: Forest hike, scenic views

The Washington Gulch trail, aka Trail #403, is located in the Gunnison National Forest near Crested Butte, Colorado. With one trailhead along the Washington Gulch Road, CR-811, and another along the Gothic Road, CR-317, the trail stretches up and over a ridge between Gothic Mountain (12,625 ft.) and Mount Baldy (12,805 ft.). Most hikers begin at the trailhead along CR-811 where the elevation is already at 11,000 feet and the round trip distance comes out to around 3 miles with an elevation gain of a little more than 400 feet. Mountain bikers begin at the same trailhead where after the initial uphill climb to around 11,400 feet they get to enjoy two and a half continuous miles of downhill.