Honeymoon Destination Profile: Aspen, CO

If you’re looking for a nature-lover’s paradise, look no further than Aspen, CO. The beauty of this famous destination in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains is known worldwide.

If snowy images of Aspen flood your mind when you think of a Colorado honeymoon, you’re not alone. But there are plenty of winter and summer types of experiences to be had in this mountain wonderland.

Getting to Aspen

Aspen’s airport is less than 10 minutes from the city center/downtown area, filled with hotels, great dining and shopping. It’s the Aspen/Pitkin County airport, code ASE.

Example of flight costs from the following locations during winter are:

  • LAX to ASE: $300 (with 1 stop)
  • NYC to ASE: $300-$350 (with 1 stop)
  • Houston to ASE: $400-$500 (with 1 stop)

Example of flight costs from the following locations during summer are:

  • NYC to ASE: $500-$550 (with 1 stop)
  • Houston to ASE: $415 (with 1 stop)

Getting Around Aspen, Colorado

Many resorts in the area offer a free shuttle to and from the airport to Aspen or Snowmass.

If you wish to rent a car from the airport, however, there’s a counter to do so before you leave the terminals. The car companies located there include: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, Go Rentals and National.

It’s a very pedestrian friendly area once you’re downtown. You don’t necessarily need a car there. It’s easy to walk to shops, dinner or your hotel. And if you sign up for an excursion it’s likely the company you book with will provide transportation.

There’s a free electric shuttle that operates around downtown between 11:00am and 11:00pm, called the “Downtowner.” You can download their app and request a free shuttle for door-to-door service for the travelers in your party.

They also have a public-use bicycle system, called We-cycle that offers free rides for up to 30 minutes and a nominal fee beyond that. A public bus system, called RFTA, will help skiers travel between the four Aspen-area mountain slopes free of charge.

Aspen Timezone

Aspen is in the United States time zone Mountain Time. They observe Daylight Savings. If it’s 5:00pm in Aspen during your Colorado honeymoon, it’s 7:00pm in New York City or 4:00pm in Los Angeles.

COVID-19 in Aspen Colorado

Pitkin County, where Aspen is, has Five Commitments to Containment posted on their website. These are the general rules we expect to see anywhere that’s being cautious about the pandemic. This includes maintaining social distance, washing your hands, wearing a face mask and staying home if you feel sick.

LGBTQ+ Info in Aspen

You’ll feel free to be your in-love selves after your wedding, honeymooning in this mountainous United States destination. Aspen is an incredibly progressive and welcoming community.

Aspen Gay Ski Week is an exciting event that has been welcoming couples from all over the world since the 1970s. It’s the longest running ski week in the nation. (It’s a fun week, even if you don’t enjoy skiing.)

Check Aspen OUT for plenty of additional resources and suggestions for your honeymoon itinerary.

Activities for Your Aspen Honeymoon

A lot of things to do in Aspen vary by season. Just because it’s summer in this well-known winter destination doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to do for an Aspen honeymoon getaway. In fact there’s a ton of options no matter when you visit.

Warmer months

Go Mountain Biking
Travel to Maroon Bells, the “most photographed mountains in North America,” on two wheels. You can rent electric or 100% man-powered bicycles from an independently owned and operated bike shop in the city, called Aspen Bikes.

Paddle Board
Aspen Bikes also has stand up paddle boards available to rent. How great would a honeymoon memory be from paddling on the Colorado River?

Golf
Did you know your game can instantly improve by being in Aspen? Supposedly, the high altitude of a mountain course allows a golf ball to travel further.
Enjoy gorgeous views for your Colorado honeymoon from the greens at one of five locations, not including a sixth at Ironbridge Golf Club, for guests staying at the St. Regis Aspen resort.

Take a Hot Air Balloon Ride
Soar into the sky over Snowmass Brush Creek Valley, above the peaks of the mountain terrain surrounding you, on a romantic sunrise couples hot air balloon adventure. Couples have raved this is a “majestic” one-hour tour gives you an opportunity to see the areas surrounding Aspen from an aerial view.

Take a Honeymoon Horseback Ride
You and your spouse can opt to partake in one of the guided tours offered by Maroon Bells Outfitters. Book anything from a one-hour ride, at only $85 per person, to a half-day ride, to a full day tour (morning to late afternoon) at $250 per person.

You’ll ride through the scenery on horseback for an adventure in one of the prettiest places in the area: the Aspen Mountains in Colorado. They also have some attractive packages for guests, like leaving your resort behind to enjoy an overnight pack-trip where you can cozy up by the warmth of a campsite fire.

Go Rock Climbing
Try rock climbing during your honeymoon! This is one of the best activities to get face-to-face with the terrain of Aspen, breathing in that mountain air and taking in those mountain views from a unique perspective.

Book a White Water Rafting Excursion
You can experience one of three rivers in the Aspen and Snowmass areas from just on top of the water. Ride on the Roaring Fork River, the Colorado River, or Arkansas River with Blazing Adventures.

Try booking a custom trip with them if you want to be the only two in your party for your special honeymoon. This option will also allow you to customize your meals, your pick-up times from your accommodations and provides you with private transportation.

Photo courtesy of Matt Power

Colder months

Go Snowmobiling
Ride through the White River National Forest and see Maroon Bells on a snowmobile. T-Lazy-7-Ranch has a special permit that allows them to do guided tours through the forest, which is federal land. Their two most popular snowmobiling tours are:
Premier Lunch Tour: 2.5 to 3 hour tour that costs $390 for two people on one snowmobile.
Maroon Bells Tours (most scenic option): 2 hour tour that costs $370 for two people riding together.

Photo courtesy of C2 Photography

Ski or Snowboard
The United States has world-class skiing in Aspen. If you visit during winter you should try it, even if you’ve never done it before. Ski resorts offer lessons for all levels of experience.

The four slopes in the Aspen, Colorado area area:

  1. Snowmass
  2. Aspen Mountain
  3. Buttermilk Mountain
  4. Aspen Highlands

They all offer various packages to ski and snowboard. Some offer additional activities, like snowshoeing, as well.

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Swanson

Try Snowshoeing
This activity is one that’s easy to try in Aspen, and something you may not have the opportunity to try on another vacation. Guided tours are possible through ACES, the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. Equipment is provided for $65 per-person for a two-hour guided tour at Snowmass.

Anytime Activities

Fly Fish
Be a part of the Colorado culture – go fly fishing during your Aspen honeymoon on the Roaring Fork River! People who enjoy this sport say it’s an incredibly relaxing and therapeutic activity. If you’d like to find out for yourselves try booking a guided tour with Elk Mountain Anglers. They will outfit you and your spouse for the adventure and they’ll even pick you up from your hotel.

Pricing ranges from $300 to $600 depending on the tour you select, for two people with a guide.

Ride a Gondola Ride
Climb the height of Aspen Mountain as you ascend over 11,000 feet in the air to its peak. You won’t tire – you’ll be on a gondola that will climb the slopes for you! Don’t forget to check out the details of a sightseeing package in Aspen too, which includes multiple gondola rides.

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Swanson

Paraglide
If you’re a thrill-seeking couple sign up for a paragliding experience in Aspen. You’ll be able to take flight, tandem with a guide, for $295 per person. See the area from new heights as you glide above Snowmass or Aspen Mountain in Colorado. (You can sign up for this honeymoon activity during winter or fall in addition to spring and summer, but it is a heavily weather-dependent activity.)

Stargaze
If the weather provides clear skies at night during your honeymoon vacation, step outside your resort hotel room for some star-gazing above the mountain peaks. The further away you are from the city-center, the less light pollution you’ll have, which equates to more stars if skies are clear.

During the summer you can book a guided 2 to 2.5 hour tour with The Little Nell (a hotel accommodation as well). A guide will take you to the best stargazing spots in the area, provide blankets, and state-of-the-art binoculars.

Enjoy a Spa Day
Aspen has a few luxurious spas for your Colorado honeymoon. Let your mind and body relax after your wedding as you enjoy a spa facial or massage. Or enjoy one of the spa’s amenities like a sauna or aromatherapy room.

We suggest booking a couples massage at Remède Spa, at the St. Regis Aspen or a signature facial at the luxury spa at Hotel Jerome.

Take a Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride
You can take a horse-drawn carriage ride during summer or winter. If it’s summer, enjoy a historical downtown tour or a ride through Aspen’s West End with Aspen Carriage and Sleigh. If it’s winter time take a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the snow.

Dine at Any of Aspen’s Noteworthy Restaurants
There are over 80 options for dining in the city of Aspen, for you to enjoy romantic meals and champagne toasts together for your honeymoon in Colorado. Here’s four highly recommended dining experiences you’ll want to make plans to enjoy:

  • Enjoy French Pan-American cuisine at Betula Aspen.
  • Make a reservation for dinner at couple-owned French Alpine Bistro, to momentarily feel like you’re in Europe for your honeymoon, without leaving Aspen.
  • Dine-out at the modern Alpine kitchen, Bosq. It’s a small local restaurant that puts sustainability at the forefront of their cuisine.
  • Travel to picturesque Castle Creek Valley of the Elk Mountains, for lunch or dinner at Pine Creek Cookhouse.

Don’t forget to try the wine or craft cocktails at any of the above restaurants.

Where Honeymooners in Aspen Stay

There is no shortage of wonderful option to book for your honeymoon lodging.

  • Limelight in downtown Aspen. They have a lot of packages for your Aspen honeymoon, whether rewards for staying more nights, or summer or winter adventure options.
  • Hotel Jerome, part of the Auberge collection of hotels. Their historic foundation in the fabric of Aspen dates back to the silver boom at the end of the 19th century. Ask about their various package options when you book and their amenities, including their spa.
  • Book a balcony room at the St. Regis Aspen Resort. Be sure to ask about their combo spa/stay honeymoon package, with a guided overnight to Crested Butte, which includes hiking.
  • For cozy honeymoon lodging, book a cabin at T-Lazy-7 Ranch. They’ve been welcoming guests to their accommodations surrounded by mountain air for over 80 years.
  • The Little Nell luxury hotel, a member of the Relais et Chateaux group. Here, all rooms have a good (or great) view. The boutique hotel offers concierge services, onsite dining and a heated outdoor pool and hot tub.
    Stay at Marriott’s W Hotel for a modern, upscale resort option downtown, by the Aspen Art Museum.
  • If big resorts and hotels aren’t for you, consider a room at the super-cute, modernized bed & breakfast, the Little Red Ski Haus.

Go Camping

If you love camping there’s over 45 campground options in Aspen. Ditch a resort and stay amongst the elements, under the stars, at this vacation destination.

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Mikkel Woodruff

Mikkel Woodruff owns two travel sites, Sometimes Home and Sometimes Sailing, which she operates with her husband, Dan. Her photo business, Mikkel Paige Photography, allows her to bring a unique perspective to Honeyfund as she has been a part of the wedding industry for over a decade. She calls the east coast of the United States home and travels domestically and internationally multiple times a year hoping to inspire others to travel.

3 Comments

  • Daniel E. Nash says:

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  • Amna khan says:

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  • Maya Ali says:

    I just got married and I am searching for honeymoon destinations, and damn look at this place, I am coming Aspen. As me and my husband we both are writers its a perfect place for work as well, very soothing and natural.

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