Silver Bar Campground

Silver Bar Campground is located approximately five miles southwest of Aspen, Colorado, on the banks of Maroon Creek, adjacent to the Maroon Bells Welcome Station. This small, primitive campground features four tent-only, walk-in sites with centralized vault toilets only a few yards away from each campsite. A single accessible campsite is located near the toilets and water source. Properly licensed anglers may fish in Maroon Creek, which runs along the eastern edge of the campground. The campground sits at an elevation of 8,460 feet, allowing guests to experience warm summer days and cool evenings with probable afternoon thunderstorms. Come prepared for changing weather conditions — snow is possible even at the peak of summer. For hikers and backpackers, the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area epitomizes the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Starting from the Deadly Bells Trailhead at Maroon Lake, the West Maroon Trail gains elevation through aspen groves and evergreens, traverses boulder fields, crosses streams, and leads hikers through high-elevation (10,000+ feet) mountain passes. Climbing through alpine terrain, backpackers will find high mountain lakes and a smattering of wildflowers in mid-summer; check specific regulations for camping in the wilderness area. For day hikers and horseback riders, nearby Maroon Creek Trail offers a less crowded alternative to viewing the Maroon Bells, Pyramid Peak and the entire Maroon valley, with gentle, flat terrain and scenic stops that are great for picnicking. The four walk-in, tent-only sites are equipped with picnic tables, food storage lockers (bear boxes) and campfire rings, with vault toilets nearby. Drinking water and electrical hook-ups are not available. The Maroon Bells Scenic Area is surrounded by the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, 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, where 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, and 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. The nearby mountain resort town of Aspen offers downhill skiing, world-class fly fishing, dining and resorts.