Hike in Aspen | American Lake Trail
Specs:
26.8 miles | out-and-back | 2,043ft elev. gain | 4hrs avg. time to complete
How to get there:
Nearly ten miles up the winding Castle Creek Road from Aspen, you’ll park at the trailhead parking lot, located on your right. (Pro tip: Continue down the road another 2 minutes either before or after your hike to Ashcroft Ghost Town for a little dip in history and kill 2 activities with one trip up Castle Creek.) American Lake trail has hikers climb just over 2,031ft of elevation gain to a max elevation of 11,366ft according to my Strava record… so maybe wait to do this hike until you’ve adjusted to the elevation.
What to Expect:
The trail is mostly shaded (in the Summer, not after peak Fall when I last hiked it and all the leaves had fallen), and you’ll climb most of the steep stuff right off the bat, followed by gradual elevation gain over switchbacks for the rest of your climb. The single track, dirt trail has the one-off root or rock poking out and becomes smattered with tree roots and rocks towards the top, so you’ll want to keep an eye on where you’re walking for most of the trip. Once you get towards the top, be sure to [carefully] take a look around to see mountain tops peaking through the trees on your left, and your final ascent will lead you to an opening from the trees out to American Lake, where you can (hopefully) find a spot on the shore to enjoy some peace and quiet in the valley of your surroundings.
According to AllTrails, this out-and-back hike takes an average of 4 hours to complete… I’m not sure if that is hiking time alone or includes chill time at the lake, but for reference, it took us about 2hours, 17minutes of moving time (stopping a couple times for a sip of water and pictures on the way up) and only about 10 minutes of chill time at the top. So, depending on your group’s fitness level and how long you’d like to stay at the lake (maybe bring a snack/ lunch to enjoy up there before heading down), I would say plan on 2hours, 30 minutes, to 4 hours for this hike, with about 40 minutes of drive time up and down from Aspen. Just remember to pack all your trash back down with you.
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