Mountains
Pitkin County
30 Porch Notes tied to Pitkin County — the local details that change from one part of Colorado to the next.
Places in this county
Money and taxes (2)
Money and taxes
In Pitkin County, your property tax bill is built from overlapping districts
Two similar Pitkin County homes can owe different property taxes because each parcel sits inside a different mix of local taxing districts.
Read note ->Money and taxes
Why Aspen buyers pay a real estate transfer tax when most of Colorado does not
Colorado bars most local real estate transfer taxes, but a handful of older resort-town taxes were grandfathered in, and Aspen's is one buyers should budget for at closing.
Read note ->Home and property (1)
Water and land (3)
Water and land
A 25-Acre Nature Preserve Tucked Behind the Aspen Post Office
Hallam Lake puts a half-mile boardwalk loop through wetlands and aspen forest a few minutes' walk from downtown Aspen, with resident birds of prey and an on-site naturalist.
Read note ->Water and land
Boats at Ruedi Reservoir get inspected for invasive species
Ruedi Reservoir east of Basalt is open for boating, but all boats must pass an aquatic nuisance species inspection at the ramp before launching and again when they leave the water.
Read note ->Water and land
Pitkin County's rivers feed both sides of the Continental Divide
The Roaring Fork and Fryingpan rivers rise in Pitkin County, and some of that water is moved by tunnel under the Continental Divide to communities east of the mountains.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire (8)
Outdoors and wildfire
Conundrum Hot Springs is a long hike that needs a permit and a bear canister
The natural hot springs at Conundrum Creek sit deep in the wilderness south of Aspen, and reaching them overnight requires an advance permit and a bear canister.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Fishing rules on the Roaring Fork change as you move down the river
The Roaring Fork River carries Gold Medal water and special catch rules that shift by river segment, so the legal way to fish depends on exactly where you stand.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Four Mountains, One Lift Ticket Above Aspen
Aspen Snowmass is four very different ski mountains on a single lift ticket, with free shuttles between them, so you can match the hill to your level.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
The Fryingpan below Ruedi Dam is a cold-water trout fishery with its own rules
The Fryingpan River below Ruedi Dam is Gold Medal water famous for big trout, and it carries special flies-and-lures rules you should check before casting.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
The Maroon Bells are beautiful to photograph and dangerous to climb
Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak are two fourteeners above the famous lake view, and the Forest Service warns that climbing them is hazardous because of the loose, crumbly rock.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
The Roaring Fork Valley is black bear country, so trash is the main issue
Aspen and the surrounding valley sit in prime black bear habitat, and the simplest way to avoid conflicts is keeping trash and food where bears cannot reach them.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Visiting the Maroon Bells usually means a reservation
The Maroon Bells Scenic Area near Aspen uses managed access in the busy season, and overnight trips into the surrounding wilderness need permits booked in advance.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Winter backcountry around Aspen falls in the CAIC Aspen avalanche zone
The mountains around Aspen are avalanche terrain in winter, and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center publishes a daily Aspen-zone forecast worth checking before you go out.
Read note ->Cars and driving (3)
Cars and driving
Highway 82 over Independence Pass is part of a national scenic byway
The drive from Aspen over Independence Pass is the high point of the Top of the Rockies Scenic Byway, passing the Independence ghost town site near the summit.
Read note ->Cars and driving
Independence Pass closes every winter, so Aspen has one main way in
Highway 82 over Independence Pass is closed each winter, which changes how you reach Aspen and Pitkin County for much of the year.
Read note ->Cars and driving
Lincoln Creek Road is a rough 4WD route with dispersed campsites off Highway 82
Lincoln Creek Road climbs off the Independence Pass highway to dispersed campsites and Grizzly Reservoir, but it is a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive road with no services.
Read note ->Local rules (3)
Local rules
A short-term rental in unincorporated Pitkin County needs a county license
Pitkin County requires a license to run a short-term rental in its unincorporated areas, and the city of Aspen and nearby towns have their own separate rules.
Read note ->Local rules
In the Roaring Fork Valley, your address decides who makes the rules
Pitkin County's developed areas are split among the City of Aspen, the Town of Snowmass Village, part of Basalt, and unincorporated county land, and each sets its own local rules.
Read note ->Local rules
Pitkin County governs itself under a home rule charter
Pitkin County is a home rule county, which means voters adopted a charter that shapes how the county is organized instead of following the standard statutory setup.
Read note ->History and culture (10)
History and culture
A 1949 gathering helped reinvent Aspen as a place of ideas
After the silver bust, a 1949 cultural convocation in Aspen led to the Aspen Institute and helped turn the quiet old mining town toward arts, learning, and recreation.
Read note ->History and culture
A standard-gauge railroad once climbed over the divide to Aspen
The Colorado Midland Railway reached Aspen in the late 1880s by tunneling under the high country near Hagerman Pass, helping the silver town boom before the line was abandoned.
Read note ->History and culture
Ashcroft is a preserved ghost town up Castle Creek
Ashcroft was an 1880s silver camp in the Castle Creek valley that briefly rivaled Aspen, and its remaining buildings are now a cared-for historic site.
Read note ->History and culture
Aspen began as a silver mining camp
Aspen grew out of a 1880s silver boom in the Roaring Fork Valley, and the 1893 silver crash that followed shaped the town long before skiing arrived.
Read note ->History and culture
Aspen's Victorian houses are part of a recognized historic core
Aspen's old downtown and its Victorian homes, including the Wheeler/Stallard Museum, are documented historic resources, and the City of Aspen's own preservation program is what shapes how owners can change designated properties.
Read note ->History and culture
Independence is a ghost town high on Independence Pass
Independence was a short-lived gold camp near the top of Independence Pass, and its remaining cabins are preserved as a historic site reachable only when the pass is open.
Read note ->History and culture
Snowmass Village began as a ranching valley, then a ski resort
The Town of Snowmass Village grew from ranchland in the Brush Creek valley after a ski area opened in the 1960s, and it later incorporated as its own home rule town.
Read note ->History and culture
The Aspen Music Festival grew out of that same 1949 summer
The Aspen Music Festival and School traces its start to the 1949 cultural gathering in Aspen and grew into an enduring summer classical music institution.
Read note ->History and culture
The Holden/Marolt site shows Aspen's mining and ranching side by side
On Aspen's edge, the Holden/Marolt Mining and Ranching Museum sits on a silver-era ore works that later became a working ranch, telling both stories in one place.
Read note ->History and culture
The Wheeler Opera House is a silver-era landmark the city now owns
Built by Jerome B. Wheeler during Aspen's silver boom, the Wheeler Opera House survived the bust and is now a venue owned and run by the City of Aspen.
Read note ->