Best Time To Visit Aspen Colorado

When is the best time to visit Aspen, Colorado? This post reveals the best times to visit Aspen, from underrated summer events to ski season dates.

My introduction to Aspen was at an optometrist’s office. I was in the lobby, flipping through a travel magazine; the copy was old, with faded dates, a dusty cover, and pages that smelled like must and vanilla. Occupying the center spread was a small town with snow-capped mountains and Christmas-perfect ski resorts shiny under white lights. Aspen, Colorado.

The Aspen the magazine described was a glitzy, glammy A-list romp, frequented by the Kardashians and Biebers of the world. I (not a Kardashian or a Bieber) arrived a few years later on a day trip that lasted longer than a day because of a rental car issue. 

No complaints: in a rare moment where expectations and reality match up, this tiny town was exactly as I imagined, a picturesque (wintery) wonderland.  

Aspen is known as a winter getaway, but as someone with zero skiing abilities who prefers hiking (without winter shoes the size of pickleball paddles), summer is my favorite time to visit Aspen. After all, this posh village has postcard moments year-round. 

And every few months feels like a weather refresh, so if you’re planning a trip to Aspen, here’s our guide to the best time to visit Aspen, Colorado.

November brings winter to Aspen. Those first few weeks look like grime and slush. Stretches of dead leaves wrangled in mud. Snow slowly stitching early winter’s patchiness.

December (usually) marks the start of ski season, one of the biggest reasons to visit Aspen. In the past five years, the town has received an average of 188 inches of snow a year (and this winter, so far, has been particularly powder-sport friendly). 

Winter is also peak tourist season. Aspen is a snow town, so expect thick crowds around the holidays and later in February and March when snowfall maxes out. You’ll want to arrange accommodations as early as possible (fair warning: winter is the most expensive time to visit Aspen), lock in lessons and lift tickets and ski season passes (at least a week in advance), and call to make restaurant reservations (thirty days in advance).

Winter In Aspen Travel Tips:

• The best time to visit Aspen for skiing is winter! These are the sweet spot dates to hit the slopes, according To Business Insider. 
• February consistently carries heavy snowfall.
• If you’re new to skiing in Aspen (and are trying to figure out how to layer up and what all the ski lingo means), here’s a beginner’s guide to skiing in Aspen. 
• If you don’t ski, Aspen is still a great winter getaway, with events like 12 Days Of Aspen (shows, songs, cookies, and cocoa) and Wintersköl (snow sculptures, fireworks, and lots of craft beer). 
  

Spring in Aspen is fleeting, quick and short with weather whiplashes. April overlaps with winter. You can still ski then, until the ski hills close (usually, mid-month). 

Aspen is quiet in May. Shops shutter as mud season, one of the worst times to visit Aspen, slides in. Picture sludge (lots of sludge) slicking trails. Now, resort prices are at a yearly low, and the restaurants Aspen is most known for close (you’ll still find plenty of places to eat and drink, but they might be short staffed). 

Late spring in Aspen is off-season, and while I usually love visiting places off-season, I wouldn’t personally recommend visiting Aspen in May (unless you’re in town for a concert at Belly Up). 

Spring In Aspen Travel Tips:

• Each mountain in Aspen has staggered closing day celebrations (some, like Aspen Highlands Party and Elk Camp Surf & Snow Beach Party, with a distinctly spring breakers vibe).  

Summer is one of the most underrated times to visit Aspen. Alpine grass drapes mountainsides in green. Aspen’s flowers are in bloom, too. Tall stalks hide wild geraniums. Fields burst with blue lupines. 

Independence Pass, one of the prettiest sections of Colorado State Highway 82, usually opens after Memorial Day. The road (which goes from Leadville to Aspen) winds and curves and winds and curves, but you’ll glimpse the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains (Mount Elbert), cut through the Continental Divide, and drive past White River National Forest’s sylvan banks. 

Once you arrive in Aspen, the air is still cool but warm enough for a day hike (or weekend camping trip). You’ll want to hit up the trails (note: Maroon Bells Scenic Area requires a parking (or shuttle) reservation, and I recommend securing that reservation as soon as the advance ticket period opens).  

Read Next: Light & Easy Colorado Summer Packing List

Summer In Aspen Travel Tips:

• You can ride the Silver Queen Gondola in the summer! Once atop Aspen Mountain, you can dine at a sundeck restaurant, hike, and even take a yoga class. 
• Little Nell hosts Monday night movie screenings in the summertime! No RSVP is needed. The dates are still to be determined (TBD) for 2025 but are usually announced here (on Little Nell’s website).

September adds a Midas touch to Aspen; the leaves golden. The woods erupt into bright colors. Mid-to-late September is the best time to visit Aspen to see fall foliage. 

Aspen has 300(ish) days of sunshine each year, but fall is rainy (September, the start of shoulder season, is especially so). The cloudy, overcast weather starts to curb by October, when off-season begins. A few leaves still linger on trees, but Aspen quiets and looks like a ghost town on those days leading up to Halloween. 

Local businesses enter prep mode: transforming this little village into a wintery ski town. You’ll still find good food, drinks, and accommodations, but staff might be intensely (and very understandably) preoccupied with getting ski season underway. After all, winter is one of the busiest times to visit Aspen. 

Fall In Aspen Travel Tips:

• The gondola stops running daily around Labor Day, and its weekend activity will halt entirely in October. 
• In the middle of October, Independence Pass will close (earlier if the weather warrants).

Did you enjoy this guide to the best time to visit Aspen? Have you ever been to Aspen? If yes, when did you go and how was your experience? As always, I love hearing from you!

Disclaimer: The dates of all events listed in the events calendar are accurate at the time of publication, but are subject to change afterward.