What Are The Maroon Bells And Where Are They?
The Maroon Bells are a pair of mountain peaks near the town of Aspen, Colorado. They are one of, if not the most photographed landmark in Colorado. The Maroon Bells are located on National Forest Service Land in the Elk Mountains. They are in the White Mountain National Forest in a designated wilderness area. There are a number of campgrounds near Maroon Bells. The campgrounds are by far the cheapest way to stay anywhere in the area. The town of Aspen with the nearest hotels is one of the most expensive places to stay anywhere in the United States.
They are most frequently visited and photographed from the Maroon Creek area southwest of the mountain peaks. That is the area represented in the photo in this article. Both peaks top out at more than 14,000 feet.
What Is It Like To Travel To And Photograph The Maroon Bells By Aspen, Colorado?
In recent years, the Maroon Bells have seen a massive uptick in visitors and photographers. Anyone who has been to Maroon Bells can testify to the incredible views from the Maroon Creek area particularly at sunrise or in the fall when the surrounding landscape lights up with bright fall foliage.
If you want to head out to the Aspen, Colorado area to see the Maroon Bells, the closest airports include the Grand Junction, Colorado airport, the Montrose, Colorado Airport or the Gunnison, Colorado Airport. If you wan to fly into a major airport you might want to fly into the Denver, Colorado Airport.
Whether you fly out to Colorado of take a road trip, you’ll need to have a car to get the Maroon Bells unless you stay in the town of Aspen and take the shuttle bus up to the Maroon Bells area. Reservations for the Maroon Bells shuttle but can be found here. Full details for parking, camping and the Maroon Bells shuttle bus can be found at the White River National Forest Maroon Bells section.
It used to be as simple as getting up early in the morning and driving up to the Maroon Bells parking lot to catch sunrise and spend the day at Maroon Bells. It seems likely that going forward camping, general parking and even taking the shuttle bus up to Maroon bells will require reservations.
Once you get up to Maroon Bells, the scenic photo spot is a short walk from the parking lot and the shuttle bus stop. From sunrise on, the area will likely be mobbed and you will have to edit people out of your photos if you include the lake shore of the lake that feeds into Maroon Creek in front of the Bells. Sunrise is by far the best time to photograph the Maroon Bells from the Maroon creek area.
The Maroon Bells area is closed in the winter but you can get a really cool winter view of Maroon Bells from the slopes of the Aspen Highlands ski resort during the winter.
What Does It Take To Get A Wall Art Quality Photo Of The Maroon Bells In Aspen, Colorado?
With the surge in visitors to the National Parks and other incredible public lands since the pandemic, the biggest challenge to getting the best wall art photo possible can be just getting there. If you want to photograph Maroon Bells, you’ll be well served to keep an eye on the White River National Forest page for Maroon Bells to see how access is regulated moving forward.
When this photo was taken you could just drive up and pay the $10 fee or flash the US National Parks pass and drive up to the main parking lot. If you were up there and able to park before the bus started running you could spend the whole day up there. There were no tickets, no reservations and no other hassles to deal with.
In order to get the most spectacular photo you’ll want to look at the hourly weather forecast for the morning you intend to go. Ideal conditions will include very calm winds and clear to partly cloudy skies. If there is a high chance of precipitation, you may want to pick another morning to go unless your time is limited and that is the only time you have to go.
Calm winds will, of course, facilitate the Maroon Bells mountain peaks reflecting in the lake and partly cloudy skies may result in a fiery sunrise over the lake and the mountains.
Once you scope out the weather and navigate the logistics of getting up to Maroon Bells before sunrise, you’ll just need to grab your gear and head over to the edge of the lake or pond that feeds into Maroon Creek.
Naturally, sunrise at Maroon Bells is a very popular sunrise spot. You’ll be up there with at least a fair number of people and potentially hoards of people though somewhat limited parking limits the number of people there at sunrise.
When you are looking at the Maroon Bells, there will be mountains to the left of the lake and a lake shore you can walk to the right. The lake shore to the right stretches for a fairly log way. It is along here that you will pick your spot to setup your gear and photograph the mountains and the lake. If you are lucky, there will not be people wading in the lake or skipping rocks across the lake to ruin the reflections at sunrise. These are things I’ve encountered at Maroon Bells. Unfortunately there is really nothing you can do about things like this.
When you pick a spot around the lake to shoot you’ll want to aim for a spot that gives you a clear shot of the mountains. Unless you want to do some photo editing to get people out of your photo you’ll want to pick a spot and a composition that does not include the lake shore to the right of the lake when looking at the Maroon Bells. If you are shooting in the fall, it may be worth it to take some shots like this that will need to be edited so as to capture the stunning fall foliage in the landscape around the lake and below the mountain peaks.
Photos of Maroon Bells are pretty spectacular anytime but dawn through about 45 minutes after sunset will generally provide the best lighting and yield the most impressive photos.
What Is The Best Gear For Photographing The Maroon Bells In Aspen?
When photographing the Maroon Bells, you’ll want to have a good DSLR or mirrorless camera. A lens zoom range of between 17mm and about 100mm should be sufficient for most any wide landscape view you want to come away with. If you want to zoom in on some aspect of the landscape then naturally you’ll want to have a lens with a bit more zoom power. Moose and other wildlife do hang around the Maroon Bells area so you might want to have a larger zoom lens in the car for wildlife when you are done shooting sunrise.
Since you’ll be shooting in low light conditions at sunrise, you’ll want to have a tripod and potentially a cable release to keep the camera as steady as possible when shooting. A circular polarizer will help you adjust the reflections visible in the lake if the winds are calm and the mountains are reflected in the lake.
A panoramic photo setup could be useful with some creativity but unless you’ve been there before to scope out any panoramic photo opportunities, you’ll probably be best served by focusing on compositions that consist of a single frame and not stitching anything together.
What Is The Story Behind This Photo Print Of Sunrise At Maroon Bells?
This sunrise photo of Maroon Bells was taken during the summer of 2013 I was on the third year of what turned out to be ten years of road tripping to the US and Canadian National Parks and other cool sights. When passing through Colorado, I often stayed with an elderly friend in Gunnison who played an integral part in the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. While using Gunnison, Colorado as a home base, I spent a fair amount of time exploring the local area including the Colorado Crystal Mill and of course Maroon Bells.
Back in 2013, the Maroon Bells area was popular but the crowds were nothing like they are today. As usual, I was on a shoestring budget. Before departing Gunnison, CO, I checked the weather and looked for days with low cloud cover, calm winds and little if any chance of precipitation.
At that time, as long as you drove up the road to Maroon Bells before the buses started running for the day you could go up, park and spend as long as you wanted there.
I drove up in the middle of the night, found an overnight parking lot, parked there and snoozed in the car for a while. I set the phone alarm for about 45 minutes before sunrise, woke up right when it went off and drove up to the parking lot closer to the edge of the lake and Maroon Creek.
By sunrise there were some people mulling around but it was by no means a crowd. I’d say by sunrise the parking lot may have been 20% full. I walked along the edge of the lake until I was able to find a spot that did not include the lake shore to the right of the Maroon Bells mountain peaks. By keeping the lake shore out of the photos, I wouldn’t have do edit out all the photographers standing along the edge of the lake.
As the sun started to rise in the sky, the beautiful orange glow started to drip down from the peaks of the Maroon Bells until the entire portion of the mountains above the treeline was painted with a bright orange color. The winds remained perfectly calm and the reflections were absolutely magnificent. Fortunately there were no rock skippers, birds or anything else to cause ripples on the lake and ruin the reflections on the lake.
Once the sun had risen and the glow began to fade, I wandered around the lake, took some more photos after sunrise and spent a good portion of the day up at Maroon Bells. On this day a couple moose came strolling through the meadow by Maroon Bells and I got few photos of them.
Once I’d had my fill of the Maroon Bells area for the day, I hopped in the car and headed off to explore more of the amazing sights in and around Aspen, Colorado.
What Formats Is This Maroon Bells Sunrise Wall Art Print Available?
This Maroon Bells sunrise photo is available in sizes up to 40×60 inches on paper, canvas, metal, acrylic and wood. If you’ll be hanging it in an area with diffused light, and print with any finish will look good. Anything shiny or metallic like metal or acrylic prints of canvas of paper with a metallic or glossy finish will look brighter and more vibrant. If you’ll be hanging it in an area with bright direct lighting then you’ll probably want to choose paper or canvas with a matte finish that will not reflect the brighter lighting or any exposed light bulbs.
If you’d like something more along the lines of home decor, this print comes on really high quality shower curtains that can be paired with matching bath towels. If you’d like to add a nice scene and some comfort to your living room or bedroom, a nice soft Sherpa fleece blanket can be a great choice.
If you’ve had to deal with grocery shopping and the plastic grocery bags have vanished from your favorite store, this image comes on high quality canvas tote bags that come in a few different sizes. In addition to shopping bags they can make nice beach bags as well. If you’d prefer something smaller with the Maroon Bells print, a cel phone case for your new Apple or Samsung phone can make a nice accessory.
Finally, if you’re into jigsaw puzzles this image comes on 500 and 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzles that provide a nice challenge for the puzzle fan. They come in a nice cardboard with the image printed on the box for reference.
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