Aspen, Colorado is known for its many remarkable sights and incredible viewpoints. The must see attraction of Aspen, Colorado is the drive through Independence Pass! Talk about breathtaking!! Independence Pass is just what it says in the name, a mountain pass. Going from 8,000 elevation to 12,095 elevation and back down to 9,603 elevation all within an hour. It Is an amazing scenic drive that connects Aspen and Twin Lakes. Definitely not one that you want to miss. However the gem of it all are the hikes! There are so many hikes all throughout the pass!
I absolutely love to hike, but being a mother of 3 kids, all under the age of 4, I can’t hike far. Great news though! There are many a kid friendly hike in Independence Pass! So if you are making this breathtaking drive with kids, you can still fully enjoy it with these short kid friendly hikes!
When is it open?
I am a huge musical fan and one of my favorites is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The reason I mention this is because I think of this movie every year around the end of May. In the movie the townsfolk get excited when the pass between the mountains opens up as the snow clears. They announce to the entire town, “The Pass is open! The Pass is open!” Every year on the Thursday before Memorial Day I call my husband and exclaim, “The Pass is open! The Pass is open!”
The pass is closed during winter seasons due to the hazardous conditions of the snow and ice. The only seasons it is open is summer and fall. Depending on how extreme the winter season was, it normally opens the Thursday before Memorial Day each May. It normally closes around November 7th depending on if the winter season starts early or not.
The 2 seasons of Independence Pass
Independence Pass is an amazing place to be and has 2 magical seasons. Summer or fall. So pick your preference of which you would prefer to see and plan accordingly. Summer is the season of wildflowers and greenery. It is so green everywhere! The weather will stay around 68 degrees for the majority of the mountain, obviously the peak is always more chilly, at an average of 59. This is the time of year to fish, hike, and if you can deal with the cold, swim.
My favorite season is fall!!! IT IS INCREDIBLE! Independence Pass is covered in Aspen trees. Aspen tree’s leaves, during fall, transform into amazing, brilliant colors. The entire pass is covered in bright yellow and orange trees. It is so beautiful! You can still do all of the hikes, but you are hiking through white tree forest with yellow leaves surrounding you and falling all around. I love the sound of walking on dried leaves. Bring a jacket though, because it gets pretty cold at these higher elevations. Averaging around 40 degrees. Around mid-October is when it is the most brilliant.
How to help with car sickness
- Chew gum
- Look straight out the window, preferably the front
- Make sure your kids aren’t watching a screen of any kind or they will get sick fast
- Bring barf bags
- Dramamine for kids, prevents nausea (ages 2-12)
- Go slow, especially around turns. The faster you go the easier it is to get carsick
How to hike with kids?
As a mama of 3 kiddos all 3 years and younger, I know the thought of hiking with kids can seem l like too much work and not worth the effort. I thought this for a long time and it prevented me from going out a doing a lot of things with my kids.
There are so many benefits to hiking with your kids though. The benefits are listed on my article about How to hike with Toddlers. Hiking with kids requires a lot of effort, but it is possible! My number one tips are to bring lots of snacks! Bribery with food works wonders on getting kids to keep moving. We love the applesauce squeeze packs the best. Healthy, yummy, lightweight, easy to pack, and doesn’t get ruined in heat.
Know your limits and don’t push your kids too far or they will hate hiking and you will end up with sore shoulders from carrying them. We can do about 3 miles with my husband, but with just me and my 3 kids; our max is 2 miles. I always bring a baby carrier and a toddler carrier backpack with me whenever I go on a hike that is longer than 1 mile. Toddler carrier backpacks are essential in my book! It allows us to hike distance and works as a backpack for the snacks and water. I highly recommend a pack with a shade top to help keep your kid in the pack happy and free from sun burn. It also sorta shades you too!
Make sure you have fun! This is the key to hiking with kids! Talk it up before going, be excited, be happy, let them explore! Climb rocks, point out lizards and birds, pick flowers, throw rocks in the water, make it an adventure. As long as you make it exciting, be patient, and love what you are doing your kids will too!
Trails:
Lost Man Reservoir
This short trail is perfect for kids! For the first half of the trail you are in the woods, surrounded by beautiful pine trees! The trail itself is pretty clear with very few roots and rocks sticking up. It can get pretty muddy and there are several water runoffs along the trail so you may want to water proof your hiking shoes. Just spray your shoes down with waterproof spray the day before.
Through this pine forest there are tons of wildflowers and small creeks. There are 3 creeks you will pass, but only one has a bridge. They aren’t big creeks, but enough that you have to jump on a rock to cross. The best part of this section of the hike is that it is shaded and keeps you real cool.
There is a shore incline at the break of the trees and you come to an open area alongside a giant creek. It is so beautiful! On the one side to the trail you look down to a steep descent to see a rocky creek flowing down the mountain. On the other side you are close to a giant smooth creek that is so clear you can see the fish swimming up it. The view of the trees, mountains, and creeks is breathtaking!
Follow the creek up river for the second half of the trail. Downside is that you will be out in the sun; there is no shade at all. Make sure you wear sunscreen. You are at such a high elevation and so close to the sun, that you will burn a lot easier than most times.
Once the trail starts to incline you will know you are close to the reservoir. You won’t see it until you reach the top of the small hill and then…
Bang!
A full out view of mountains, pine trees, and a beautiful reservoir. It is so much to take in at once! It is an amazing view! My kiddos ran straight for the water to jump in, but let me tell you it is freaking cold! I would not advice swimming, but if you get fishing permit, it is a great place to fish.
You can walk around the reservoir and enjoy it at different angles. It is so peaceful and so quiet. All you hear is the sounds of birds singing and the water flowing from the creek. A perfect place to sit back, relax, and enjoy the beauty of nature.
Location:
Distance: 1.3 mile, there and back
Parking: There is a good size dirt parking lot at the start of the trail.
Independence Ghost Town
For such a short hike this one has SO much to it! There are 2 separate starts to this trail on either side of the parking lot. Either follow the path around and through the small pine trees, or on the right side down the stair case. Either way it leads to the same location and merges into one trail. The trail is very short to the first two miner cabins. It is mostly downhill, so know that the way back is up hill; again though it is very short.
There are a series of cabins, foundations of old cabins, mills, and sheds from the early 1800s. Beautiful relics of the mining years in these grand mountains, that have been abandoned. You can’t go into the cabins, but you can look through the windows and doors. There isn’t anything in them, just dirt and old wood that has fallen through the ceilings.
The town is located next to a fast moving and beautiful creek and centered in the mountains at about 10,000 elevation. The trails throughout the town are easy and short. I do advice sunscreen and hiking shoes, due to there not being any shade at such high elevation and the trail has quite a bit of rocks to it. All and all it is a very easy trail with a gorgeous view and fun sights along the way.
Location:
Distance: 0.2 mile, there and back
Parking: There is a dirt pull off with enough room for about 8-10 cars.
Grottos Ice Caves
A MUST-SEE kid friendly hike in Independence Pass! A really short trek over the bridge and through the woods. It is a beautiful and easy hike. The start of the hike is a bridge over a beautiful river than through a wooded pine tree trail. Invest in a good pair of hiking shoes, cause it gets pretty rocky after a while. Hiking shoes will help you keep from slipping and keep your feet from feeling all those rocks. Trust me your feet will feel a heck of a lot better the next day. Bug spray is an absolute essential for this trail too! I was eaten alive by mosquitos!
Follow the trail and you will get to a set of really large boulders. If you look down from the giant rocks you will see the opening to the cave and most likely some ice. It is a steep climb down and a slippery one, but you can’t miss out on going into the cave. The cave has incredible formations and the the creek running through is amazing to see. Not gonna lie it is slightly difficult with the little kiddos to get in and out of the cave, but like I said…WORTH IT! Just make sure you have a little help.
After you crawl out of the cave you get to the top of the caves and can look down a canyon area to look down at the cave. Keep a good hold of your small kiddos so they don’t fall in. Follow the path over a small bridge with another great view of the inside of the caves.
A lot of people turn back at the caves, but don’t! Keep going to the cascades! Just a short hike over the rocks and you will reach the river again. Except not only is it a river, there is a waterfall! The rest of the trail circles around following the river back to the parking lot. It is so worth it!
Location:
Distance: 0.6 mile, there and back
Parking: There is a descending small dirt road that leads to the trailhead. That is the parking lot. It is very limited.
Weller Lake Trail
By far my favorite kid friendly hike in Independence Pass! The trail beings by crossing a bridge over the river. Really this is the only flat surface on the entire trail. The rest of the trail is an incline upwards until you get to the lake. Remember you will go up the whole way there, so it is all down hill on the way back.
The trail is through the woods the entire way and is a zig zag path up the mountain. You will really want to wear a good pair of hiking shoes because it is really rocky. You will want some for your kids too, to help them make the trek without slipping on rocks.
Pretty much throughout the whole hike you can listen to the sound of water falling. Once you get about 3/4th of the way up you come to a bridge and cross the gorgeous creek/waterfall. It is a really beautiful sight!
Once you get to the end, your mind will blow! The lake is amazing! There are fallen logs piled together at the front of the trail. You are surrounded by rocks, trees, and water; every kids dream! It is so beautiful! It is almost like a mini Maroon Bells!
Location:
Distance: 1.1 mile, there and back
Parking: There is a parking lot in front of the trailhead with about 10-15 parking spaces.
Wildlife to be aware of:
There are many wild critters that roam these mountains and before hiking these trails you should be aware of them. Don’t be fooled that the herbivores are not dangerous. Moose and elk can be very aggressive and should not be approached.
Black bears and cougars are the predators that you need to be aware of in these mountains. Just be aware of your surroundings, don’t hike alone, and make a lot of noise to ward off any dangerous wildlife.
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