Permits for overnight backpacking in restricted areas of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness in the rugged Elk Mountains west of Aspen go on sale next week.
Advance reservation permits ($10) are required for overnight stays in the busiest areas of the wilderness including the famed Conundrum Hot Springs, as well as Capitol Lake, Crater Lake and the Four Pass Loop that includes Snowmass Lake and Geneva Lake.
The Four Pass Loop is a 27-mile trek for backpackers and trail runners crossing four high alpine passes that top out over 12,400 feet — West Maroon, Frigid Air, Trail Rider and Buckskin. It’s considered to be one of the best trips in Colorado.
Related: Everything you need to know to hike the Maroon Bells Four Pass Loop
The forest service began requiring permits for overnight stays at the Conundrum Hot Springs in 2018, and those go “really quickly” when they are put on sale, said David Boyd, public affairs officer for the White River National Forest.
Eight more areas of the wilderness were added to the permit-required list last year. Those went “fairly fast for the busy times like weekends and holidays,” Boyd said.
All nine areas have quotas to limit human impact. The forest service says permits and quotas are necessary to manage increasing numbers of visitors and reduce resource impacts including unburied human waste, garbage and damage to vegetation.
“We have been hearing loud and clear that the public wants us to keep this area a premiere backcountry destination by getting a handle on this over-use and environmental damage,” Aspen-Sopris District Ranger Kevin Warner said. “This overnight permit and fee program is critical to giving us the resources we need to effectively manage, restore and protect this cherished area.”
Reservations are made only through recreation.gov. Overnight permits for nights between April 1 and July 31 will be made available online on Feb. 15 at 8 a.m. Permits for Aug. 1 through Nov. 30 will be available beginning June 15. In areas of the wilderness outside of the zones requiring permits, visitors must register at the trailhead.
In Rocky Mountain National Park, reservations for summer wilderness overnight backpacking trips can be made beginning on March 1 at 8 a.m., also through rec.gov. There is no lottery system, so reservations will be awarded strictly on a first-come, first-served basis online. As with Maroon Bells-Snowmass, quotas in the park are imposed to prevent overcrowding and resource impacts.
