What's on in Aspen, United States through the year

Peak crowds — X Games Aspen, Christmas and New Year peak

• Festival

  X Games Aspen

  20 Jan – 1 Feb · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Buttermilk hosts the winter X Games over a long weekend in late January, free to spectators and hard on the town's beds. The other three mountains ski normally through it. Source ↗

Still on: Independence Pass closed (1 Nov – 21 May (usually)), Ski season (26 Nov – 18 Apr (usually)), Christmas and New Year peak (18 Dec – 4 Jan)

Peak crowds — X Games Aspen, Presidents' Day and spring break

• Holiday

  Presidents' Day and spring break

  12 Feb – 25 Mar · usuallySchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  American school breaks stack through late February and March and they land on the deepest base of the season. The snow is the best it gets; so are the lift queues and the rates. Source ↗

Still on: X Games Aspen (20 Jan – 1 Feb (usually)), Independence Pass closed (1 Nov – 21 May (usually)), Ski season (26 Nov – 18 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Presidents' Day and spring break, Spring break in United States

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Presidents' Day and spring break (12 Feb – 25 Mar (usually)), Independence Pass closed (1 Nov – 21 May (usually)), Ski season (26 Nov – 18 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Closure

  Mud season

  8 Apr – 20 May · usually

  The offseason between closing day and the Maroon Bells opening: restaurants take their holiday, hotels close floors, and the trails are still under snow above 3,000 metres. Source ↗

Still on: Independence Pass closed (1 Nov – 21 May (usually)), Ski season (26 Nov – 18 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Rule

  Maroon Bells reservations

  15 May – 31 OctBook early

  Maroon Creek Road is reservation-only for the whole open season: a parking slot or a shuttle seat from Aspen Highlands, both booked in advance. Nothing about turning up unannounced works here. Source ↗

Still on: Mud season (8 Apr – 20 May (usually)), Independence Pass closed (1 Nov – 21 May (usually))

Peak crowds — Food & Wine Classic, Summer break in United States

• Festival

  Food & Wine Classic

  14–22 Jun · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Three days of tastings and seminars in tents on the park in mid-June, and the weekend the summer season really starts. Room rates roughly double and the town books out months ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Maroon Bells reservations (15 May – 31 Oct)

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Aspen Music Festival

  1 Jul – 23 Aug · usuallyMajor festival

  Eight weeks of concerts under the tent at the Benedict Music Tent, hundreds of them free or cheap, with students practising in the open all over the west end. It runs July into late August. Source ↗

• Nature

  Alpine wildflowers

  1 Jul – 10 Aug · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  Columbine on the Cathedral Lake and Crater Lake trails from the first week of July, later and better the higher the trail starts. Afternoon storms are the reason people walk early here. Source ↗

• Hazard

  Afternoon monsoon storms

  5 Jul – 5 Sep · usuallyStorm season

  Midsummer pulls moisture up the Rockies and builds thunderheads over the peaks most afternoons. Above tree line the rule is simple: be off the ridge by noon. Source ↗

Still on: Maroon Bells reservations (15 May – 31 Oct)

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Maroon Bells reservations (15 May – 31 Oct), Aspen Music Festival (1 Jul – 23 Aug (usually)), Alpine wildflowers (1 Jul – 10 Aug (usually)), Afternoon monsoon storms (5 Jul – 5 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Aspens turning, Summer break in United States

• Nature

  Aspens turning

  18 Sep – 8 Oct · usuallyAutumn colourCrowded

  The stands on Independence Pass and above Maroon Creek turn in the last week of September, and the Bells reservations for those days go the moment they open.

Still on: Maroon Bells reservations (15 May – 31 Oct), Afternoon monsoon storms (5 Jul – 5 Sep (usually))

Busy — Aspens turning

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Maroon Bells reservations (15 May – 31 Oct), Aspens turning (18 Sep – 8 Oct (usually))

Busy — Thanksgiving break in United States

• Closure

  Independence Pass closed

  1 Nov – 21 May · usually

  CO 82 over the pass shuts for the winter around the first serious storm in November and reopens the Thursday before Memorial Day. Until then the drive in from Denver goes the long way, via Glenwood Springs. Source ↗

• Season

  Ski season

  26 Nov – 18 Apr · usuallyBook early

  Aspen Mountain and Snowmass open around Thanksgiving, Highlands and Buttermilk in December, and all four run to mid-April. Highland Bowl needs a settled base and opens when it opens. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Christmas and New Year peak, Winter / Christmas break in United States

• Holiday

  Christmas and New Year peak

  18 Dec – 4 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The dearest fortnight of the Aspen year. Lodging goes months ahead, the town runs at capacity, and the early-season snow is rarely as good as the prices suggest. Source ↗

Still on: Independence Pass closed (1 Nov – 21 May (usually)), Ski season (26 Nov – 18 Apr (usually))