Aspen Rio Grande Trail Running Route

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Length 5.56 km (3.45 miles), terrain is fairly flat (50 meter gain), but elevation is high: 2500 meters (8000 feet)!

For more running routes, see Route List

Warning: Make sure that you have had time to acclimatize yourself at this altitude before attempting a run. There is 25% less air at Aspen's altitude, and you will definitely feel it!

If you are visiting beautiful Aspen, there is one running/biking/walking trail that is by far the most popular with everyone: the Rio Grande Trail. The trail follows the old roadbed of the Rio Grande Railroad, and the trail heads northwest from Aspen all the way to Glenwood Springs, 40 miles away. There are no steep sections on this trail, so it is one of the few flat Aspen trails that you will find.

This route will only follow the short 2-mile section of the Rio Grande within Aspen, and return then to the start by running directly through town.

The route starts in the northwest corner of Aspen, on N 8th Street at Meadows Road, on the west end of town. The Meadowlands Trail runs northwards here, parallel to Meadows Road. Head north on Meadowlands Trail, which will soon dead-end into the Rio Grande Trail.

Start of run at Meadowlands Trailhead

Castle Creek is off to the left side. You will be running past lots of beautiful homes on this run, and they begin right away: riverfront lots with beautiful gardens and patios.

Along Castle Creek

Aspen is absolutely beautiful: full of beautiful people going through beautiful streets surrounded by beautiful nature. It has the highest real-estate prices in the US, and many homes are as big as hotels, but are often only used for a few weeks each year. At the little Aspen airport, I counted about 40 private Learjets waiting to fly their overpaid owners back to their other homes.

A mansion along the Rio Grande Trail

You will pass the Aspen Institute on the right side, long famous for its humanistic leadership seminars, and the Aspen Music Festival School, which brings great musicians to town each year.

Soon you will cross the bridge over the Roaring Fork River and come to the Rio Grande trail, where you turn right.

The Rio Grande Trail in Aspen

You are now running southeastwards along the river. The trail is paved, with a narrow gravel track for joggers that sometimes detaches from the paved trail.

There is plenty of traffic here: lots of bicycles, runners, walkers and dog-walkers, so you'll have to share the road!

Flowers along the trail

You'll run by woods, meadows and expensive homes, and an occasional footbridge back to town.

After 2.3 km, you'll run over a wooden bridge spanning Hunter Creek, which plunges into Roaring Fork from the left side, and you'll pass a creekside trail to the left. The Hunter Creek Trail is a great hiking trail, but the footing is so stony that I don't recommend it for running. But make sure you take a hike along that wonderful trail while you're in town!

Hunter Creek bridge

Soon after Hunter Creek, the trail bridges the Roaring Fork itself. The trail splits here, but we'll take the left-hand trail that follows the Roaring Fork along the south side.

You will now enter a series of little parks lining the Roaring Fork.

After going by the art museum, you'll cross an old iron bridge. Turn left immediately past the bridge, and continue along the river. This is the John Denver Sanctuary, a rock garden with his song lyrics inscribed on some of the larger rocks.

In the John Denver Sanctuary

After leaving the sanctuary, the trail comes up to a street, Rio Grande Place. Stay on the trail as it turns left and continues for 200 meters to idyllic Herron Park, with its wide, flat stretch of river that invites families to wade in its waters.

This is the turnaround point for our run. You could just run back the same way that you came, or see a bit more of town by following the way described here.

Entering Herron Park

Run back to where the trail comes to Rio Grande Place, before the sanctuary, by turning left up to the "Rio Grande Recycle Center" sign. Now turn right and follow Rio Grande Place westwards past Rio Grande Park, with its football field.

Run straight up that driveway on the other side of Mill Street!

Cross Mill Street and continue straight ahead on the paved way. that leads between the red-brick building and the wooden one across the street. Now keep going on the dirt path that goes uphill between two houses. This will bring you to Hallam Street, a residential street with lots of old Victorian houses.

In the Hallam Street neighborhood

Now just run westwards on Hallam until you come to N 8th Street again, where you turn right and run the three blocks back to the start. Enjoy this beautiful neighborhood. I especially love the tiny creeks that run along several of the numbered streets, often lovingly planted with flowers and trees.

A cross-stream in Aspen

Snowmass Ditch Trail Running Route

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Length 5.8 km (3.6 miles), terrain is hilly, rising 160 meters, elevation is high: 2800 meters (9000 feet)!

For more running routes, see Route List

Warning: Don't try this on your first couple of days if you've just arrived from some location near sea level. Take it easy the first few days!

Snowmass is developing into an all-year resort. So if you find yourself there in the summer, here's a great spot to run, especially nice as a morning run in the cool morning air. If you like trail running, this will feel like heaven.

Along the Ditch Trail

This fairly short route gets away from all the buildings, people and activity of Snowmass Village, and leads you out into pure nature, with wide vistas and backcountry beyond Snowmass Mountain, with views of Snowmass Creek Valley and Mt. Daly.

This out-and-back run combines three trails: the Nature Trail, the Sleigh Ride Trail, and the Ditch Trail.

So, if you're psyched to go, then let's head out!

Start at the Snowmass Mall. Go up to the top level, and go out to the street. You'll see parking lots across the street, and a wooden sign pointing straight ahead, to the far side of the parking lot.

Just follow that arrow to the back of the parking lot to start the run!

Just follow that arrow and run across the parking lot, then down the wooden steps. You're now on the Nature Trail, heading westwards.

The Nature Trail lives up to its name: this narrow trail winds through a changing scene of woods and meadows, following Brush Creek, going uphill. There are pine woods and aspens, and lots of wildflowers. I ran it in June, and there were hundreds of purple lupine, and strangely large yellow flowers. 

Lupine meadow along the Nature Trail

NOTE: There are a lot of tree roots and big stones along this part of the run, with a lot of ankle-spraining potential, so watch where you're running! Don't expect the first kilometer to be fast.

It also has a few short but steep climbs, rising 100 meters in the first kilometer. If you aren't used to the altitude, take it easy. I, as a flatlander, struggled with the climbs, and I walked the steepest ones.

Aspens and columbines

One side-creek makes the trail so muddy in one spot that you have to find a detour up along higher ground.

At 1.3km, the Nature Trail goes up a short uphill stretch and then runs into the Sleigh Ride Trail, a smooth, graded trail that feels more like a sidewalk. Turn right and continue westwards.

The Sleigh Ride Trail

In 100 meters, the Sleigh Ride Trail ends where a street crosses it. Several streets branch off at this spot.

Continue straight by running past the right side of the stone sign ahead of you. You'll see a wooden sign for the Ditch Trail, which starts behind the stone, and is very narrow at this point.

Run straight to those rocks at the corner to begin the Ditch Trail!

The trail soon widens into a hiking trail with no more gain in elevation. As its name points out, this trail follows a ditch with flowing water.  

The ditch

NOTE: It may not look like an Audi Q7, but you're looking at some German technology in that ditch. Back when this was a mining area, the biggest problem for miners was the groundwater that seeped into their mines. And the only way they could pump it out was with a water-mill. So they used the nearest creek to power a water mill. But often just one creek wasn't enough to provide enough power to pump out all the water. So they built such ditches along the mountainsides to catch other creeks and to divert them to the mine and its mill. This technique was perfected by German miners in medieval times, and was put to use in the Wild West.

View of Snowmass Creek Valley

The Ditch Trail is the place where you'll get one great view after another. Looking off to your right, you'll see Snowmass Creek Valley with its little ponds. And straight ahead, you'll see snow-capped Mt. Daly and other big peaks.

You will run under the Campground ski lift after 2.4 km, then soon, in another half-kilometer, come to a spot where trail makes a sharp turn to the left and begins to go uphill. There is a waterfall in the valley ahead, which you can hear. And there is a bench to sit and enjoy the view south towards Mt. Daly.

This is the turn-around spot

This is our turn-around point. Now run back the way that you came. The best thing to do then is to jump into the hotel pool. But you'll have a hard time trying to keep a big, silly grin off your face as you lie there in the Colorado sun.