North America · United States
Maroon Bells, Colorado
Hikes / North America / Four Pass Loop
In late September 2021 I flew to Denver, drove to Snowmass Village and hiked the Four Pass Loop in Colorado's Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness: four days and about 44 miles, from the trailhead at the end of Snowmass Creek Road up to Snowmass Lake, over Trail Rider Pass, Frigid Air Pass, West Maroon Pass and Buckskin Pass, past Crater Lake under the Maroon Bells, and back down the way I came. It's the trip from my film Hiking 40 miles on the Four Pass Loop in Colorado.
Kraig Adams
Effort at this pace: Hard · about 11 mi (18 km) and 2,420 ft (738 m) of climbing a day over 4 days, up to 12,569 ft (3,831 m). Our grade for the days given, worked out from distance, climbing and altitude a day; it isn't the trail's usual difficulty rating (under Basics) and doesn't rate exposure, terrain or weather.
From Kraig Adams's GPS recording and guide.
From Kraig Adams's GPS
Elevation8,392–12,559 ft40.1 mi
From Kraig Adams's GPS. Terrain: Mapzen Terrain Tiles (USGS 3DEP, SRTM) on AWS · Rivers & lakes © OpenStreetMap contributors
Tap a day for his map of it
The film
Hiking 40 miles on the Four Pass Loop in Colorado
Before you go
From Kraig Adams's guide
The overnight permit: $10 a person a night plus $6 a permit, so a solo…
a tent and my sleeping gear · a small stove and pot, a mug, four days of food · a hooded shirt and shorts in the day, an orange puffy jacket and a beanie in camp · trekking poles · a headlamp · my phone · Arc’teryx Cerium Hoody · PATH Projects Hoyt Merino Beanie and 11 more.
When bookings open, from the sources named under each. Dates move: confirm on the official site.
On set dates at 8 a.m. Mountain time: February 15 for April to July, June 15 for August to November, October 15 for December to March. Leftovers can be booked up to the day of your trip.
Next: Feb 15, 2027
Book on recreation.gov.
Source: Kraig Adams's Four Pass Loop guide: Permits and camping (2026). Checked October 2026.
From Kraig Adams's guide
From Kraig Adams's guide. For planning, not navigation: check before you go.
Their films and versions
1 creator so far: Kraig, 4 days, tent.
Hiking 40 miles on the Four Pass Loop in Colorado
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Typical: 4 days (the hike's facts).
Planning questions about Four Pass Loop, answered only from this page's facts, the creators' versions and hikers' public tracks, with where each answer comes from. When the data doesn't say, the answer says "not given".
From hikers
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Answered from the data
I took four, but the first was a 6-mile walk in after sunset and the last was a fast 11 miles out by lunchtime. I'd call it maybe a three-day hike if you add them together. From Maroon Lake, the loop itself is about 26 miles (the Forest Service's figure), and most people take three or four days. See Other ways to do it.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
The overnight permit: $10 a person a night (May to October) plus $6 a permit, so a solo three-night trip costs $36. A bear canister (rent or borrow one if you don't own one). From Maroon Lake: $10 a vehicle for parking or $16 for the bus. A rental car from Denver or a flight to Aspen. A CORSAR card is $5 a year (see Weather and safety).
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Mid-July to September. The Forest Service says the loop is often snow-bound from October through June. For the yellow aspens, the colors usually peak from mid-September to early October; I walked it September 25 to 28.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Yes, in 2026 you need a Recreation.gov overnight permit for each permit zone and each night you camp in it: $10 a person a night from May 1 to October 31, plus a $6 reservation fee per permit. Permits go on sale on set dates (February 15, June 15 and October 15 in 2026). Bear canisters are required.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
From Maroon Lake the loop is about 26 miles (the Forest Service's figure). I started from the Snowmass Creek trailhead, which adds about 9 miles each way: 43.7 miles in four days on my GPS, September 25 to 28, 2021.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Buckskin Pass is 12,462 ft and West Maroon Pass 12,500 ft (Forest Service). Trail Rider Pass and Frigid Air Pass are both about 12,400 ft; my GPS read 12,425 ft and 12,398 ft.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Yes. I parked at the Maroon-Snowmass Trailhead (also called the Snowmass Creek Trailhead) at the end of Snowmass Creek Road and walked up to Snowmass Lake, about 8.8 miles, so I didn't need the Maroon Lake shuttle. In 2026 parking there is limited to about 25 spaces from August 14 to November 14 while the trailhead is rebuilt.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
I went counterclockwise from Snowmass Lake: Trail Rider, Frigid Air, West Maroon, then Buckskin. From Maroon Lake the same direction starts with Buckskin Pass.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.