From iconic attractions to hidden local gems, here's what Aspen News recommends for things to do in Aspen. Whether you're visiting for a weekend, hosting out-of-town family, or rediscovering your own city, this guide is curated by locals who know what's worth your time.
Aspen's flagship park with pool, playground, picnic areas, and tennis courts.
Quiet neighborhood park with playground, walking paths, and picnic areas.
Hands-on natural science museum and 5-acre nature preserve. Programs for kids.
City center with library, civic buildings, dining, and seasonal events.
Trendy shopping district with boutiques, dining, and Rice University proximity.
Largest medical complex in the world — guided tours, museums, McGovern Medical School exhibits.
Most attractions in Aspen are accessible by car; check individual venues for parking and accessibility. Many offer free admission with paid extras (gift shops, special exhibits). Major events draw heavier crowds — check our civic calendar for upcoming festivals and community events.
Family-friendly options dominate Aspen's attractions, with parks, museums, and family-oriented venues popular year-round. Many places offer kid-specific programming and discounts on weekdays.
Local guides, business directory, and how to reach our readers.
Recent reporting and curated coverage across every beat we cover.
The 2026 legislative session left a bitter taste among those of us who spent 120 days with lawmakers under the gold dome advocating for policies to improve the lives of working folks. For Latino advocacy organizations like mine, Voces Unidas Action Fund, the session was largely defined by missed ...
The Roaring Fork Valley’s summer race season hit another level on Saturday with one of the area’s most prominent foot races, the Audi Power of Four Trail Run. Produced by Aspen Skiing Company, there were 50k, 25k and 10k race options. In the featured 50-kilometer run — that’s just over 31 mile...
The orchestra tunes, and then, in a piano concerto, the conductor and guest pianist enter, and the concert begins. You have not likely thought about the piano being tuned. You can watch and hear four-string instruments like a violin, bass, viola or cello tune, but consider what needs to happen fo...
Galerie Gmurzynska returns to The Aspen Art Fair from July 29 to Aug. 1 at the historic Hotel Jerome, 330 E. Main St. The booth will mix modern masters with contemporary highlights: Dan Basen’s Box with Paint Brushes (1968), Sonia Delaunay’s “Projet pour l’affiche Chocolat (1916–1917), Wifred...
Katherine Riesberg, a graduate of Middle Park High School in Grand County, has been skiing since the age of two. Riesberg said her love for outdoor recreation is a big part of what led her to pursue a Masters of Science and Ecology at Western Colorado University, where her thesis project led h...
Rain fell across parts of the state Friday, bringing mixed results for Gold Mountain, Ferris, Willow, Fishhook and Elk fires.
Vintage luxury retailer What Goes Around Comes Around will debut in Aspen with a pop-up inside The Aspen Times building at Hotel Jerome from July 25-Aug. 2. The pop-up, at 330 E. Main St., will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. “We are so excited to embark on this partnership with the i...
Willow Fire was 36% contained as of Friday
Ahren Victory stars as Cassie in ‘A Chorus Line’
Sen. Chris Murphy calls $100B spent by U.S. a mistake
Husband was shot, but deemed the aggressor
“A Chorus Line” won nine Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize when it premiered on Broadway in 1976. Theatre Aspen’s revival of the play concludes on July 25 at the Hurst Theatre.
Ahren Victory stars as “Cassie” in Theatre Aspen’s production of “A Chorus Line.” Victory grew up in Colorado Springs.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., speaks at the 2026 Aspen Security Forum on Thursday. He was joined by moderator Jim Sciutto, Robert Greenway, Karim Sadjadpour and Roxana Saberi.
CNN’s Jim Sciutto, left, moderates a panel on the Iran war at the 2026 Aspen Security Forum on Thursday. He is joined by Robert Greenway, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, Karim Sadjadpour and Roxana Saberi.
“You have definitely lost your mind,” my friend Erica says, without flinching. I was telling Erica how I really want to learn...
I have a delicate flower confession to make. When I was a kid, the smell of lawnmower gasoline made me so nauseated...
Ziska Childs — (Re: “Guths withdraw request to expand home’s livable area,” July 16, Aspen Daily News) By doggedly quoting code...
Michael Maple — I wholeheartedly support an increase in Aspen-Pitkin County Airport parking rates. Parking, and indeed all...
Climate change is becoming harder to ignore in Eagle County. Over the past nine months, its effects have touched nearly every aspect of our lives. We experienced a record-low snowfall last winter, followed by a dry spring that worsened our long-term drought. Unfortunately, the trifecta of histori...
Wildfires continued to ignite and burn across Colorado this week as widespread drought continues to plague the state. The Colorado Wildland Fire Status Dashboard showed seven large fires and a total of 28 active fires that had burned around 214,000 acres as of Friday afternoon. The wildfire ri...
Woody Creek is easy to misunderstand. To many people passing through, it’s little more than a post office, the Tavern and a bend in the road. But to those who have spent much of their lives here, it is something else entirely. It is a collection of dreams and memories — of ranches, hayfields,...
Mountain Rescue Aspen successfully rescued an overdue hiker from Maroon Peak on Thursday night into Friday morning. According to a press release, the Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center received a satellite text message at approximately 7:39 p.m., reporting an overdue hiker in the...
Almost two weeks ago, the Eagle County Open Space Program approached county commissioners about putting a property tax on the table for the 2026 election. After much discussion, shelving it for the 2027 election was proposed. On Tuesday, Eagle County commissioners picked the timeline that coul...
With the Willow Fire currently holding steady at roughly 6,800 acres and 40% containment, the Leadville Race Series announced Wednesday plans to move forward with its final four events of the summer, including the Leadville Trail 100 MTB and Run. “The smoke is lifting and the hundreds of perso...
David Weekley, a Texan and part-time resident of Crested Butte, was a multimillionaire by age 30 after founding his homebuilding company David Weekley Homes in 1976. But when he almost lost everything in his mid-30s, he said one of his biggest regrets was not the overnight disappearance of his we...
Prom dresses, tiaras and plenty of opening-night energy filled Thunder River Theatre Company on Thursday as SoL Theatre Company kicked off its run of “The Prom.” Some audience members dressed for the occasion, arriving in prom gowns and tiaras before posing for photos on the set after the perf...
Attorneys for the Eagle County commissioners on July 10 filed a “petition of condemnation” in Eagle County District Court to acquire a disputed parcel of land in Edwards adjacent to land the county owns west of the Eagle River Village mobile home park and wants to convert to a park. “The subje...
The dog days of summer are officially upon us, and while we need the moisture, I’m about to start doing a drinking game for every time someone says, “We need the moisture.” My box fan has been pointed directly at my face for much of the past two weeks, and my cooking has been limited to easy reci...
Extremely low flows and high water temperatures have prompted Colorado Parks and Wildlife to implement voluntary fishing closures on the Colorado, Eagle, Crystal and Roaring Fork rivers beginning Friday, July 17. Severe drought conditions have driven river flows well below 50% of normal, and d...
Brinley, a small terrier mix, weighed 28 pounds when she left Dallas, Texas, with her owner for a summer road trip last month. Thirty-three days after stopping in Summit County, the 12-year-old dog weighed just 17.2 pounds. She survived mostly alone in the wilderness after becoming loose near...
On July 15, Anderson Ranch Arts Center held its annual Ranch Gala and Live Auction in Snowmass, welcoming more than 200 guests from art, design and cultural communities. The event raised a record $1.6 million through ticket sales and the live auction. Proceeds support Anderson Ranch scholarsh...
“At 6 o’clock tonight the people of Aspen and all visitors are cordially invited to enjoy their supper at the Jerome Hotel — not a banquet or a spread — just the regular 6 o’clock supper with a few Home Coming frills and a good fellowship gathering,” The Aspen Democrat-Times announced July 20, 19...
The state's largest currently burning wildfire remains active near the communities of Rye and San Isabel. Plus: Updates on Gold Mountain, Ferris, Willow, Fishhook and Elk fires.
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission narrowly passed a new daily hunting limit for the 17 species it classifies as furbearers at its Thursday, July 16 meeting in Ignacio. Recreational hunters can now only kill two per day — down from the previous unlimited precedent — of each of the fur...
Freeride skiing and snowboarding will debut at the 2030 Olympics in the French Alps — and Colorado athletes are among those hoping to compete. Shayne Blue Sandblom, a 23-year-old Silt native and Freeride World Tour competitor, described freeride — a discipline where athletes rip down steep, un...
Free weekly digest. Local news that actually matters — no spam, no clickbait, easy unsubscribe.
By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy. We never sell your data.