We left for a long weekend getaway in Aspen Snowmass shortly after my Pathways class ended on Thursday afternoon.
We drove to Snowmass via Buena Vista and then over Independence Pass. I am sure that if we had traveled two weeks ago, the color along the way would have been outstanding. For the middle of October though, the color in some places was still pretty stellar.
We stopped at a pullover at the top of Independence Pass and the Continental Divide. The views were beautiful but it was chill-y.
We drove through Aspen first and stopped at a City Market to get some groceries for the weekend. If you have never been to the area, Aspen comes by its name honestly because of the abundance of aspen trees.
We planned to stay at the Viceroy in Snowmass Village just 12 miles from Aspen. Aspen Snowmass includes 4 mountains and ski resorts in the Elk Mountains of the Maroon Bells Snowmass Scenic Area. The 4 ski resorts are: Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass, and Buttermilk.
Chris and I were visiting in the off season. Summer events were over and the fall foliage tourists were mostly done. The area would shut down at the end of October and would reopen to winter snow and ski tourists just before Thanksgiving.
As it was, Viceroy was one of very few hotels still open in Snowmass Village. Chris used points and booked a room which included $100 daily credit toward breakfast. You would think that would cover breakfast for the four days we were staying, but pricing was crazy high.
When we arrived, our room was upgraded to a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment. It was huge. Very nice. I don’t think there were too many people even staying for the weekend.
There were only a few restaurants open a short walk from the hotel. We just walked over, but bundled up to do so. Daly Diner was probably the most reasonably priced place we would find all weekend.
After dinner, we explored the outdoor pool area and enjoyed a soak in the hot tubs. No one outside but us.