East Maroon Creek

East Maroon Creek

A backpack over East Maroon Pass to Copper Lake, or over Copper Pass to intersect the Triangle Pass segment of the Copper Creek Trail. This hike follows an abandoned road through a glacial valley flanked by tall crags. The route was built as a toll road in 1887 to ship ore up the valley of East Maroon Creek and over the pass to the smelter in Gothic. The Denver & Rio Grande and Colorado Midland Railroads arrived in Aspen later that same year, providing cheaper ore transport and putting an end to the East Maroon toll road. During late summer when the fords are manageable, this trail is the easiest hiking route from Aspen to Crested Butte. It can be used as a backdoor route to the Conundrum Creek valley via Copper Pass and Triangle Pass. The trail receives heavy horse use, and consequently it is often muddy, eroded, and braided into several channels. Camping is not allowed along the first 1.5 miles of the trail, within the Maroon Creek valley.

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