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The Rio Grande Trail

4.7 (14 reviews)

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Emma T.

If your legs are tired from hiking up mountains or difficult trails and you need a rest day, checkout the Rio Grande Trail. This is a nearly flat paved path that starts in downtown Aspen and goes for miles! We walked here on a Saturday morning and didn't find the trail overly busy or crowded. There were walkers, runners, and some bikes, but not too much. We had a nice peaceful low key walk. The trail also connects to the Hunter Creek Trail (see my review for more details) and various other trails that we did not have time to explore. There are doggie waste bag stations and trash cans in regular distance and there are public restrooms at the beginning of the trail near downtown Aspen. This is the perfect place for an easy day, hiking or riding bikes with small children, or people with physical limitations that make uneven hiking trails less than ideal. I truly enjoyed my morning on the trail!

Around mile 16.5
Anrana S.

The trail is a total of 42 miles from Glenwood Springs to Aspen. There are 20 official trail heads/ parking lots spaced along the trail. Since let's be honest - very few people would ride the complete trail out and back. So it's nice to pick a section. Lots of areas to pullout, look at the river, benches are every few miles, as are pit toilets and picnic tables. There are many spur trails located along the trail as well. Leading to lots of recreational opportunities. Lots of bikers on the trail. But also roller blades, runners, moms with strollers. Being a former rail track, the trail is relatively flat/low incline. So not the place to go for a mountain bike challenge. They have a 20 mph speed limit, so not the place to go to ride a time trial. There is very little shade on the trail, especially north of Carbondale. Personally I find the 12 mile section between Glenwood Springs and Carbondale to be a tad boring. But once you hit Carbondale it is more varied, hence more interesting.

I biked from Aspen to Glenwood Springs plus some for a total of 48 miles. This is between Carbondale and Glenwood Springs!
Amanda J.

I rode the trail from the beginning in Aspen to the end at Glenwood Springs this week for a total of 48 miles. I have not been on a bike in 10+ years, and I could not even remember how to shift when I started. The ride from Aspen to Glenwood is dominantly flat and very downhill at the beginning. As long as you bring plenty of sun screen and water and are moderately in shape, you can bike this trail. The temperature was 15 degrees warmer in Glenwood than Aspen, which was also a bit unpleasant to bike in. My friend and I had two major signage issues and got off the path twice. We ended up in Basalt and could not figure out how we got so far off of the path there. The second time, we needed to make a sharp right to not go into Carbondale but did not see it. The parks department could really use to create some better signage because we ended up on major roads (AKA 82), which was unsafe. If you think you are lost, you probably are. Be ready to check Google Maps to get back on the trail. Otherwise, traveling the trail from Aspen to Carbondale is really fun. We saw horses and sheep and lots of pretty bridges and the river, plus some old tracks and passenger cars. Carbondale to Glenwood was less fun because the trip got much hotter and had no shade. It was a bit more boring as well, as there was not much to see on that part. All in all, we had fun biking the 42 miles + 6 additional lost miles, and it was a great way to see a lot of the valley.

Near Basalt, CO.
Ethan C.

Good trail. Paved, smooth, flat and a lot of downhill going back to Glenwood Springs. Good trail.

Edith Q.

I had such a lovely walk along this trail. It is a well-kept trail that is easy to walk. I really liked that there were detailed maps at various intersections throughout the trail. There were pockets where one could get close to the river and enjoy the serene sounds.

Great meadow and mountain views south of Arciero trailhead

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Review Highlights - The Rio Grande Trail

It goes all the way past basalt and you are not exposed to the massive hill climbs that will tax your abilities.

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American Lake - A little waterfall to start

American Lake

4.0(2 reviews)
1.7 km

One of my favorite Aspen hikes! A great workout with a rewarding beautiful lake at the top! Dog…read morefriendly and lots of shade.

As I continued on my goal of hiking once a week in Aspen, I saw friends posting pictures of…read moreAmerican Lake. I absolutely loved hiking to Cathedral Lake a few weeks ago, and this trail is just two miles before Cathedral Lake. However, I could not find anyone else interested in this hike so I decided to go by myself. This was one of the clearest trails I have hiked all summer, and I felt 100% safe hiking this one by myself. If you are a first-time solo hiker, this is a great one. This hike seems like it will start out easy, as you jump a stream and cross a meadow. However, you almost immediately get to 45 minutes of switchbacks. The switchbacks were steep enough, and the Aspens do not provide complete coverage from the sun. While I did not need to take a break, it was a very intense way to start a hike. Once you get through the switchbacks, the hike flattens out quite a bit with just a few more hills. The remainder of the hike is mostly shady, which also meant that starting at 10:25 AM was just fine. You hike through many more pine trees and a few meadows. When you come up on the lake, it is just beautiful. There are some trails around the lake, but you should also look for fish in the lake because it is very clear! The hike down is very easy and fast as well because there are very few rocks on this hike. I am usually slower down than up, and I sped down this mountain. I started this hike at 10:25 AM, reached the lake at 12:00 PM, and I was back to my car at 1:40 PM, after spending a little over a half hour at the lake. My biggest issue with this hike is that there are flies EVERYWHERE. Having a fly by your ear for 3.2 miles each way is rough. People also do not pick up after their dogs, and there is dog poop everywhere. So while the actual lake is gorgeous, I found the journey up to Cathedral Lake much more fun and enjoyable. This hike is worth doing if you have the time, but it wouldn't be on my top 5 list in Aspen either.

Photos
American Lake - American Lake

American Lake

American Lake - Open meadow after the switchbacks

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Open meadow after the switchbacks

The Rio Grande Trail - hiking - Updated May 2026

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