Maroon Bells Amphitheatre
1Heads up1 fire 29 mi away
This place has sites and nobody may sleep in them.Ask for camping here →
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 7 notices
In the agency’s own words
Reputed to be the most photographed mountains in Colorado, the spectacular Maroon Bells dominate this setting. Hemmed in by Maroon Lake, aspen groves and evergreen forests, Maroon Bells Amphitheater is designed for interpretive talks, and is especially popular for recreational events and weddings. The amphitheater is available for use by the general public and can be reserved for private events. The maximum number of people allowed at the amphitheater is 50. Receptions are not allowed at this location, but can be held at the East Maroon Portal Picnic site, approximately a four mile drive. Keep reading
Recreation
There are hiking trails of varying length and difficulty. Trails next to Maroon Lake are fairly flat and wheelchair and stroller accessible. Beyond Maroon Lake, trails become steeper and rocky. For hikers and backpackers, the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness epitomizes the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Starting from the Maroon Bells Scenic Area, the West Maroon Trail winds through aspen groves, crosses streams, and switchbacks through forests. Climbing to alpine terrain, backpackers will find high mountain lakes and a smattering of wildflowers in early summer. Check specific regulations for camping in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area.
Facilities
The Amphitheater is a venue with a view, tucked behind the visitor center and overlooking a vast meadow (speckled with wildflowers mid-summer), Maroon Lake, and the Maroon Bells. It’s the perfect space for interpretive programs, weddings, spoken-word poetry performances, contemplate thought, or a picnic! The Amphitheater can be rented for private gatherings most days of the week throughout the summer. Reservations open one year in advance on a rolling basis for $200 per day. The space can hold a maximum of 50 people. Accessible vault toilets and a water fountain area available at the site- electrical outlets and phone service are not. Decorations are allowed within the amphitheater, however the following are prohibited from use: Arches (or large structures) Items that are thrown or animals released (doves, flower petals, rice, confetti, etc.) Collection of items from the surrounding area PA systems (or loud music) Hanging lights from trees Floating Lanterns or Fireworks Aluminum cans dragging from vehicles All decorations must be removed upon leaving the amphitheater. Amphitheater reservations include five vehicle passes to the Maroon Bells Scenic Area, available for pickup at the Welcome Station five days prior to the event. Guests that cannot be accommodated with the included vehicle passes will have to either purchase a vehicle pass or reserve a seat on the shuttle bus well ahead of time at Aspenchamber.org. Operating hours for the shuttle bus are 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Dogs are permitted on the Maroon Bells Shuttle. Vehicle traffic is restricted on Maroon Creek Road past the Forest Service Welcome Station from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. so guests with vehicle passes must come through the Welcome Station before 8:00 am. Handicapped individuals and vehicles with children under 2 years old in a restraining car seat are exempt from needing prior reservations and from road restrictions. Parking for the amphitheater is available at the day use parking area, 200 yards from the site. Park all vehicles in the day use parking area. No vehicles are allowed in the bus loop for any reason. The shuttle bus drops guests off just 25 yards from the Amphitheater. While receptions cannot be held at the amphitheater, the nearby East Maroon Portal Picnic site is a popular option for the after-party. The East Maroon Portal Picnic site is a small, developed area situated along Maroon Creek, sharing a parking lot and path with the East Maroon Creek Trailhead. The picnic site can accommodate up to 75 people and may be reserved for the morning (10AM - 2PM) or the afternoon (3PM - 7PM) , or both. All food, beverages, and scented items must be properly stored until the time of the reception. A bear-proof food locker is available to store these items while not being attended. Click here to reserve the East Maroon Portal Picnic site.
Natural Features
The amphitheatre has views of the surrounding Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. This wilderness is one of the five original Colorado wilderness areas designated by the 1964 Wilderness Act. Its scenic value exudes from its aspen groves, meadows of wildflowers, and dark forests of spruce and fir that rise up from the valleys to alpine landscapes. Here, bighorn sheep, pika, and ptarmigan find habitat above timberline. Towering over glacial valleys at over 14,000 feet in elevation, the Maroon Bells are the most recognizable peaks in the Elk Mountains. The Maroon Bells are unique in the Rockies in that they are made up of metamorphic sedimentary mudstone that gives the peaks their maroon color and unstable nature for climbing. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (970) 945-2521.
Charges & Cancellations
Changes: If your new stay dates are completely different from your original stay dates, there is a $10 change fee Cancellations: You can cancel the reservation any time before the date of your scheduled arrival. You will receive a refund for your stay, minus the following fees: $10 cancellation fee Any reservation fees (only if paid when booking) Any previous change fees Late cancellation penalties may also apply.
What the agency tells you
Check in at Welcome Station between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to confirm reservation for the Amphitheater
This area provides access to the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area. Camping overnight in some areas of this wilderness requires a permit . You must also have proper bear-proof food storage and a plan for human waste in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness.
Personal vehicle access at the end of Maroon Creek Road is restricted; those without a vehicle day pass should make shuttle bus reservations at www.aspenchamber.org
Everything else this campground posts · 4
Independence Pass (Highway 82) is normally open from Memorial Day through mid-October, weather dependent. If you are planning an event during these times, please call the Colorado Department of Transportation Hotline for road updates at (877) 315-7623.
Don't Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing organisms by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
For more information, call (970) 963-2266
Click here for more information about White River National Forest
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…hold a maximum of 50 people. Accessible vault toilets and a water fountain area available at the site-…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…people. Accessible vault toilets and a water fountain area available at the site- electrical outlets and…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek, Meadow
- Hiking
- Ranger programs
- Visitor center
- Wildlife viewing
- Fall color · reported 14 days ago, 12 km away
- Peak color
Nothing here to sleep in
The agency files 1 record here and marks it day use, not overnight. On its own record there’s nothing here to spend the night in.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
“Changes: If your new stay dates are completely different from your original stay dates, there is a $10 change fee Cancellations: You can cancel the reservation any time before the date of your scheduled arrival. You will receive a refund for your stay, minus the following fees: $10 cancellation fee Any reservation f…” · this campground’s own terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 records · the site map
All 1 records
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 1 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
| Maroon Bells Amphitheatre | Maroon Bells Amphitheater | day use | yes | 588 ftMaroon Lake | 100 ft | $200 |
The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It files it as day use. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Silver Queen CampgroundWhite River National Forest · 3.6 miSilver Bell CampgroundWhite River National Forest · 4.4 miSilver Bar CampgroundWhite River National Forest · 4.6 miGothicGunnison National Forest · 8.3 miGothic Campground - Gunnison RDGunnison National Forest · 8.4 mi
Difficult CampgroundWhite River National Forest · 9.8 miComing to Aspen via Independence Pass: Take Highway 82 West from downtown Aspen, 1 mile to the roundabout (rotary). From the roundabout, take Maroon Creek Road 4.7 miles to the Maroon Bells Welcome Station. Continue past the Welcome Station. The amphitheater is 5 miles beyond the Welcome Station at the end of the road. The Maroon Bells Amphitheater is approximately 9 miles from Highway 82 at the roundabout.
Coming to Aspen via Glenwood Springs: Take Highway 82 for 40 miles to the roundabout (rotary). From the roundabout, take Maroon Creek Road 4.7 miles to the Welcome Station. The amphitheater is 5 miles beyond the Welcome Station at the end of the road. The Maroon Bells Amphitheater is approximately 9 miles from Highway 82 at the roundabout.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Snowmass Village, CO
Typical weather
Typical October night 24°F, day 50°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 5°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Maroon Bells Amphitheatre is in Colorado’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Jeff Hurd (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
The agency’s own record files sites here and marks every one of them day use. The draft asks whether any could open to overnight camping, and if not, why.
- The member who votes the moneyJeff HurdU.S. Representative · Colorado’s 3rd district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationJohn W. HickenlooperU.S. Senator · Colorado
- Your senator, on the same appropriationMichael F. BennetU.S. Senator · Colorado
Read the draft, or change the wording
Asks them to put the same question to the agency in writing.
Subject Maroon Bells Amphitheatre has sites, and nobody may sleep in them
Dear Jeff Hurd, I’m a constituent in Colorado’s 3rd district. Maroon Bells Amphitheatre, White River National Forest, Colorado carries 1 record on the U.S. Forest Service’s own file, every one of them marked day use rather than overnight. I’m asking you to put one question to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: would they consider opening any of these sites to overnight camping, and if not, why not? Road trips and camping on public land are part of how this country knows itself. It’s where a lot of people meet the place they live in for the first time, and it has never been something you had to be well off, or well organised six months in advance, to do. Sent about Maroon Bells Amphitheatre (White River National Forest, Colorado) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the same question to the agency in writing.
Subject Maroon Bells Amphitheatre has sites, and nobody may sleep in them
Dear John W. Hickenlooper, I’m a constituent in Colorado. Maroon Bells Amphitheatre, White River National Forest, Colorado carries 1 record on the U.S. Forest Service’s own file, every one of them marked day use rather than overnight. I’m asking you to put one question to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: would they consider opening any of these sites to overnight camping, and if not, why not? Road trips and camping on public land are part of how this country knows itself. It’s where a lot of people meet the place they live in for the first time, and it has never been something you had to be well off, or well organised six months in advance, to do. Sent about Maroon Bells Amphitheatre (White River National Forest, Colorado) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the same question to the agency in writing.
Subject Maroon Bells Amphitheatre has sites, and nobody may sleep in them
Dear Michael F. Bennet, I’m a constituent in Colorado. Maroon Bells Amphitheatre, White River National Forest, Colorado carries 1 record on the U.S. Forest Service’s own file, every one of them marked day use rather than overnight. I’m asking you to put one question to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: would they consider opening any of these sites to overnight camping, and if not, why not? Road trips and camping on public land are part of how this country knows itself. It’s where a lot of people meet the place they live in for the first time, and it has never been something you had to be well off, or well organised six months in advance, to do. Sent about Maroon Bells Amphitheatre (White River National Forest, Colorado) via campanac.com