What do you need to know before riding the Silver Queen Gondola in Aspen?

Jump to: The basics · Before you ride · At the top · With your dog · Winter · Kids & mobility · The local way Ask anyone in Aspen for the one thing a first-timer should do and most of us give the same answer. Ride the gondola. It’s the fastest way to understand where you are: the whole town, the Roaring Fork Valley, and the Elk Mountains laid out in one slow, quiet turn. This guide is everything I’d tell a friend before they went up. The basics The Silver Queen Gondola starts at Gondola Plaza, at the bottom of Aspen Mountain (locals call it Ajax) on the south edge of downtown, 611 E Durant Ave. You can walk there from anywhere in the core in a few minutes. The ride is about 2.5 miles and roughly 15 minutes each way, climbing more than 3,000 vertical feet to the Sundeck, which sits just under the 11,212 ft summit. Cabins are enclosed, seat a small group, and the doors open at the top and bottom only. No stops in between, no reason to be nervous. It’s named for the Silver Queen mine, one of the claims that built this town in the 1880s. If you like that kind of thing, the History guide below picks up the story. Aspen Snowmass runs the gondola. Tickets, the operating calendar, and hours change by season, so I’m not printing them here. The official summer sightseeing page is the only source that’s always right: aspensnowmass.com sightseeing. Buying online ahead of time is usually cheaper than the window and saves you a line on busy days. Before you ride Go early. Morning is clear, still, and cool. By early afternoon in summer the clouds build over the ridge and the light goes flat, and on plenty of days it rains. The mountain can also pause the gondola for lightning or high wind, which is the right call and not something you can plan around. Morning solves all of it. Bring one more layer than you think. The top is roughly 3,300 feet higher than town. Expect it to be noticeably colder and windier, even on a hot day in August. Sunscreen and sunglasses matter more up there, not less. Take the altitude seriously. Town is already 7,908 ft. At the Sundeck you’re above 11,000. If you arrived yesterday, this is a day to ride up, look, eat, and ride down, not a day to hike hard. Drink water before you go up, not just after. Bathrooms are at the base and at the Sundeck. Go before you get in line. The gondola is fully enclosed, so this is a fine ride for people who don’t love chairlifts. If you’re anxious, sit facing uphill on the way up so town recedes behind you rather than dropping away in front of you. At the top The Sundeck is the big lodge building where the gondola lets you out. In summer there’s food and drinks with an outdoor deck that faces the Elk Mountains, and it’s the obvious place to sit for a while. Full food service runs on the mountain’s schedule, not yours, so check hours before you plan lunch around it. Amazing Wok bowls, pizza, ready to go meals, an amazing assortment of drinks and desserts as well. Summer at the summit is more than a view. Depending on the day you’ll find naturalist walks led by the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, live music, yoga, a disc golf course, and gentle trails along the ridge. All of it runs on a seasonal schedule, so look at ACES and the Aspen Snowmass events calendar before you go rather than expecting a specific thing on a specific day. Hiking from the top is the easiest way to feel like you’re in the high country without earning it the hard way. Walk the ridge trails near the Sundeck for wildflowers in July and views the whole way. If you want the real thing, the Ute Trail climbs from town to the summit and some people hike up and ride down. Whether that download is free or ticketed changes, so ask at the window rather than assuming. There is no bad spot up here, I like to take Birdie and goose to the top of chair, three and play fetch, lay in the sun, Take in the insanely beautiful sites. Take the photo, then put the phone down. The view west toward the Maroon Bells and Pyramid Peak is the one everybody wants, and it’s better in person than on a screen. With your dog Yes, and this is one of the best things about Aspen. In summer, leashed, well-behaved dogs ride free. Wait for a cabin with the paw print on it, that’s the dog car. At the top, dogs are welcome on the Sundeck patio and on the trails. Bring water and a collapsible bowl, because it’s dry and high and your dog will feel it before you do. Birdie and Goose consider the summit theirs. No dogs in winter. The gondola is a ski lift then, and the policy is firm. Forgot bags, a bowl, or paw wax for hot rock? make a quick stop at Rocky Mountain pet shop right in town. Winter You don’t have to ski to go up. In winter the gondola sells a foot passenger ticket so non-skiers can ride to the Sundeck for lunch and the view, and the ride is wonderful when the mountain is white and skiers are carving underneath you. Check the winter ticket page for the current rules and hours. ACES also runs guided snowshoe tours along Richmond Ridge from the top in winter, which is the best way to see the summit without skis on. Details and booking are on their site. Kids & mobility This is one of the easiest big-mountain experiences for small kids and for anyone with limited mobility, because the hard part is done for you. The cabin sits level, there are no stairs on the ride itself, and the Sundeck is right where you get off. Little kids under a certain age ride free, and there’s a family package in summer. The current details are on the sightseeing page. For wheelchairs and strollers, plan the trip with the Accessible Aspen guide below and confirm the loading process with the ticket office the day you go. The local way Locals ride it like a bus. We go up for a coffee and a walk, or up for one drink at the end of a summer day, and we don’t make an event of it. If you want the mountain to yourself, be on the first cabin of the morning or the last one before close. Two rules to remember. One: the earlier the better. Two: when a mountain employee tells you the gondola is holding for weather, thank them. They’re the reason it’s safe. — Written in Aspen by Chloe, with supervision from Birdie & Goose 🐩🐩