It’s a visual feast of snow-capped cathedral mountains, silver clouds, seasonal cascades, whitewater swirls dancing around glacial rivers, hills rusted red with iron deposits, super blooms of fireweed and bluebells, Aspen groves that gave the ski community its name, and rustic ranches straight out of a Ralph Lauren campaign.
It’s impossible not to experience Rocky Mountain highs when wheels down on this 42-mile alpine-adjacent artery spanning the length of the Roaring Fork Valley. It’s a visual feast of snow-capped cathedral mountains, silver clouds, seasonal cascades, whitewater swirls dancing around glacial rivers, hills rusted red with iron deposits, super blooms of fireweed and bluebells, Aspen groves that gave the ski community its name, and rustic ranches straight out of a Ralph Lauren campaign. The grade is often slight but constant and the air thin. Don’t let the altitude (5,721-7,890 feet) sneak up on you by stopping to smell the sage patches, resting against lichen-spotted fences, building a cairn with river rocks, or treating yourself to tamales and blue agave margaritas at the rowdy Woody Creek Tavern.