Area Highlights

The Roaring Fork Valley is situated in the White River National Forest, Colorado’s largest national forest, and one of the first to be established by the United States government. The Forest Service works to protect and preserve this rich, diverse region. It has become a playground for the outdoor enthusiast, providing a popular destination for campers, fishers, skiers, hikers, cyclists and 4-wheelers.

The Roaring Fork Valley is an internationally renowned winter and summer resort area, located high in the Rocky Mountains. Aspen and Snowmass offer the best of downhill and cross-country skiing in the winter, while in the summer, they host outdoor enthusiasts and arts and music partrons. Although tourism is the No. 1 industry, the Roaring Fork Valley is a thriving community where 6,307 year-round residents take great pride in maintaining Aspen’s charming Victorian past. First silver, and later near-perfect snow conditions, enticed more recent settlers to the Roaring Fork Valley.

Only 700 people called Aspen home in 1935 when international outdoorsmen came to the Roaring Fork Valley in search of the ideal location for a ski resort. In 1947, Aspen Mountain opened with the world’s longest ski lift. Three more mountains — Buttermilk (1958), Aspen Highlands (1958), and Snowmass (1968) — add to Aspen’s reputation as a premiere international resort. Aspen flourishes in the summertime with a superb combination of climate, recreation, history, and culture.