The Conundrum Hot Springs Trail, located in the Maroon Bells-Snowass Wilderness outside of Aspen, Colorado, offers visitors an experience that alpine dreams are made of. You hike through miles and miles of wildflower-laden meadows to reach a stunning hot spring, sitting in a bowl of mountains and overlooking the surrounding valley.
But hiking this trail isn’t the most straightforward, from the literal bumpy road to get there to the competitive permits that are required to stay here overnight. If you want to soak in those gloriously steamy waters for yourself, here’s everything you need to know about hiking (and camping!) along the Conundrum Hot Springs Trail.
About the Conundrum Hot Springs Trail
Here are some quick stats on the trail.
- Length: 17.1 miles
- Elevation gain: 2,762 feet
- Difficulty: Challenging
- Permit required? No permit is required if you just plan to tackle this as a day hike, but a permit is required for overnight camping.
- Trail map
You can theoretically do this as a day hike, but most people camp overnight at the sites surrounding the hot springs for at least one night (e.g., hike to the hot springs on Day 1, camp there overnight, and then hike your way back on Day 2).
How to get to Conundrum Hot Springs
The trail starts at the Conundrum Trailhead, located here, about 20 minutes south of Aspen, Colorado.
Most of the popular Maroon Bells hikes actually require that you have a vehicle or shuttle reservation to park at their respective trailheads. However, that is not the case with the Conundrum Hot Springs trailhead—you’re free to just drive right up to it!
In fact, the best (and pretty much only) way to get here is via your own vehicle, as there’s no public transit to the trailhead.
Most of the drive is along a paved road, but the last mile or so is down the dirt Conundrum Creek Road. It’s generally pretty well-maintained, but the last 100 yards or so to the trailhead is pretty uneven and rocky. To be honest, I don’t know that I’d be comfortable driving here in a sedan, but we did see several smaller cars in the parking lot—so it’s definitely doable, if you go slow!
The parking lot is pretty tiny, holding about 25 cars. We visited on a weekday in mid-June, arriving around 10 AM, and snagged one of the last parking spots. There’s no overflow parking here, so I’d definitely recommend getting here pretty early (like 7 AM or earlier), especially if you’re visiting during a weekend or on a holiday.
Camping along the Conundrum Hot Springs Trail
Camping is permitted in the backcountry campground around Conundrum Hot Springs, with 20 designated sites. There are no services whatsoever at the campground, like vault toilets or water spigots.
In order to camp overnight here, you need to get a permit for a specific campsite, which you can pick up here (you’ll want to select the Conundrum Hot Springs Zone option). Each campsite can accommodate a different amount of people, ranging from a maximum of two to six people.
Camping permits for Conundrum Hot Springs usually sell out shortly after they’re released, especially for the popular summer season. Fifty percent of the permits become available six months before your trip day at 8 AM MT, whereas the remaining 50% are released four days before the trip date at 8 AM MT.
If you have a specific date that you want to camp at Conundrum Hot Springs, I’d suggest being logged on to your recreation.gov account at 8 AM, six months before your trip, to make sure you can snag a permit.
If you have a more flexible schedule, you can usually pick up a permit closer to your visit, either from last minute cancellations (we picked up a permit a few weeks before our trip that way!) or four days ahead of time at 8 AM MT, when the remaining permits are released.
Insider tip: If you prefer a campsite closer to the hot springs, Campsites #1-8 are right around the hot springs, with the other campsites located at least a quarter mile away. You can see a map of the campground here.
We camped at Site #14, which was a bit far from the hot springs for our liking, but, otherwise, worked just fine!
What to know about the Conundrum Hot Springs Trail
There’s no cell service
We lost cell service about 10 minutes from the trailhead, as we were driving, and didn’t have any service along the trail.
I’d strongly recommend downloading an offline version of the trail on AllTrails before your hike, so you can follow along without cell service.
Pssst.... you do need AllTrails+, a premium membership of AllTrails, to download offline maps, but luckily, we got the hookup for our readers, with 30% off your annual subscription. All you need to do is use this link and use the promo code "UPROOTED30" at check out!
There are a few water crossings
The trail snakes back and forth three times across Conundrum Creek, as well as some smaller streams.
Two of the crossings are on log bridges (we found them to be a bit spooky, given how high and wobbly they were), while the last crossing requires you to wade directly through the creek. Depending on the time of year and the level of snowmelt or precipitation, the water level can range from below the ankle to about knee high.
When we hiked the trail in June, the final crossing of Conundrum Creek (about 6.5 miles into the trail) was about three feet deep. We changed into our Teva hiking sandals (here’s the pair that Justin has and here’s the pair that I have) to make the crossing and were glad we did—the water was absolutely FREEZING and the river rocks were an unfortunate blend of slippery and stabby.
However, the water level might be lower later in the season (with less chilly water) and may be more doable in just your hiking boots.
There are no bathrooms at the trailhead or along the trail
There are no bathrooms anywhere along the trail, including at the trailhead.
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness asks that you pack out ALL waste (yup, including your poop), using wag bags, which are kits to help you clean up and carry out waste while you’re on the trail. When we visited, they actually had free wag bags at the trailhead (which we’ve never seen before—so cool!), but you might want to pack a few along, just in case they run out.
The trail is at a high elevation
The trail starts at 8,700 feet and climbs to well over 11,000 feet, which is high enough to cause altitude sickness.
If you’re coming from a lower elevation area, I’d try to give yourself a couple of days to acclimate in Aspen or another high altitude area, before trying to tackle Conundrum Hot Springs. For adjusting to the high altitude, it’s helpful to drink tons of water and to avoid alcohol and caffeine.
You should also be prepared for the trail to feel harder than it would at a lower elevation, given that your body has to work harder with the decreased oxygen levels in the air. When we first got to the Aspen area, we would find ourselves out of breath, just simply walking across a flat parking lot!
Most of the elevation gain is saved for the last mile
To be honest, most of the trail is pretty easy, climbing a very gentle uphill slope for the majority of the hike.
However, the last mile of the trail—when you’re already pretty tired, especially if you’re backpacking—is noticeably steeper, as you’re climbing past the campsites to the hot springs themselves.
Be sure to save a little gas in the tank for this last push. It’s nothing crazy, but if you’ve been hiking for over eight miles with 30+ pounds on your back, it can feel like a butt kicker!
The hot spring isn’t all that hot
One of my favorite things about Conundrum Hot Springs is that it’s HUGE, comfortably fitting around 20 people.
But it can be hard for geothermal hot springs to heat up such a large body of water, with most of the water feeling more like a heated swimming pool than an actual hot tub temperature. AllTrails lists the temperature as being 102°, but I’m seriously not convinced it’s that warm.
There are definitely warmer spots that you can find in the pool—I found a section, right in the middle of the pool that was emitting lots of little bubbles that was straight up HOT, as well as an area towards the northern rim that felt a bit warmer.
Still, temper your expectations, especially if you wind up sharing the pool with lots of other visitors that prevent you from moving around much. If you’re seeking hot tub-esque temperatures, there are other warmer options around the Aspen area (with limited hiking required!), like Penny Hot Springs.
You might see naked people
If you’ve visited natural hot springs before, like Conundrum, you might know that many guests treat them as clothing-optional.
We were the only ones soaking in Conundrum Hot Springs when we visited, but we’ve read anecdotes that some people enjoy it in just their birthday suit (for what it’s worth, I think public nudity is technically illegal in the Aspen area). That being said, if you’re particularly sensitive about seeing naked people, you might want to steer clear of this hot spring and try to hit one of Colorado’s commercial hot springs, instead.
It’s bear country
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness is home to LOTS of black bears. Black bears are typically not dangerous, but there are a few things you need to keep both yourself and the bears safe:
- If you’re camping, you are required to keep all of your stuff that smells (including food, toothpaste, deodorant, etc.) in an approved bear canister and store it at least 200 feet away from your tent. We have this bear canister and it works great!
- If you encounter a bear on the trail, stay calm and back away slowly, while facing it. You should also be prepared with bear spray in the unlikely event that a bear becomes aggressive towards you.
What to Bring to Conundrum Hot Springs
Here’s what you need to bring with you along the Conundrum Hot Springs trail:
1. Copy of your camping permit
Technically, you’re supposed to print out a copy of your permit. We didn’t run into anyone along the trail that checked our permit, but, at a minimum, I’d recommend having screenshots of your permit readily available on your phone (given that there’s no cell service along the trail).
2. Bugspray
When we visited, the bugs were only bad around the hot springs and the surrounding campground. But I believe it gets buggier the later in the summer that you go, so bring plenty of bugspray!
3. Bearspray
4. Sun protection
The vast majority of the trail is exposed to the sun, which can be deceptively intense, due to the high elevation.
Be sure to pack along a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen to protect yourself on the trail.
5. Hiking boots
Even if you take off your boots for the deeper water crossings, there are still several places where you wade through water that goes up about halfway to your ankles.
So I’d definitely recommend wearing a pair of waterproof boots—this is the pair that Justin has and this is the pair that I have (twinsies!).
6. Hiking sandals
Having a pair of hiking sandals is nice for water crossings, chilling at the hot springs, and for relaxing around your campsite (is there ANYTHING better than taking off your boots after a long hike?!). Here’s the pair that I have and here’s the pair that Justin has.
7. Swimsuit
8. Towel
9. Trekking poles
We’re really glad that we had trekking poles, both to give our knees a bit of a break from our heavy packs and to help us wade through the Conundrum Creek crossing.
10. Warm layers
11. Refillable water bottle
We each have one of these comically enormous Nalgene bottles that we take everywhere.
There is a water source along the vast majority of the trail, so I’d suggest bringing along a water filter, so that you can stay nice and hydrated (especially given the high altitude!).
12. Backpacking gear
I’m grouping this all together because, if you’ve been backpacking before, you probably already know and have your backpacking setup all figured out.
If not, though (Conundrum Hot Springs would be an excellent first backpacking trip!), here’s everything you need:
- Backpacks (his and hers)
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping pad
- Inflatable pillow
- Tent and footprint
- Burner
- Fuel
- Lighter
- Shelf-stable food, like this option or this option
- Cook kit
- Camping sporks
- Powdered coffee (if you’re a coffee lover, like us!)
- WAG bags (if you need to poop along the trail), plus extra toilet paper and plastic baggies to pack out any used toilet paper
- Battery pack and charging cables for your phone, headlamp, or any other electronics
- Headlamp
- Bear canister
When to visit Conundrum Hot Springs
The best timeframe to hike the Conundrum Hot Springs Trail is from mid-June through September, when the trail is snow and ice-free. We hiked it at the end of June and had absolutely PERFECT weather, with pleasantly warm temperatures, blooming wildflowers and limited bugs.
From October through early June, you should expect to encounter snow on the trail. Hiking here when there’s snowfall can be quite dangerous, given that there are TONS of avalanche chutes along the trail. Plus, most of the time, you won’t be able to even reach the trailhead, given that the road leading here is not regularly cleared of snow
That being said, people still hike this trail yearround—in fact, when we printed out our permit at The UPS Store, the attendant there was telling us how shocked he was at the amount of people who camp here in the wintertime!
I would strongly recommend against hiking this trail in the wintertime, but, if you do decide to go during this timeframe, be sure to have the appropriate gear, including microspikes and snowshoes (here are the snowshoes I have and here are the ones that Justin has). You should also be trained on avalanche safety, including packing along (and knowing how to actually use) an avalanche safety kit.
Our experience camping along the Conundrum Hot Springs Trail
From the trailhead to Conundrum Hot Springs
We got to the trailhead around 10 AM on a Tuesday and snagged one of the last parking spots available.
The trail starts gradually climbing uphill, weaving between subalpine meadows and forests, thick with aspens and pine trees.
We happily hiked along the trail until we ran into a primitive log bridge (the first of two!) that crosses over Conundrum Creek, rushing below. It’s pretty narrow, wobbly, and high over the water, so we were both a bit nervous to cross it. But, after slowly shuffling across it, we made our way to the other side.
We stopped for lunch around the halfway point, next to Conundrum Creek, and then continued on, with the views of Castle Peak, White Rock Mountain, and the other surrounding Rocky Mountains becoming better and better with each step.
Much of the latter half of the trail is through open alpine meadows, with intermittent scree fields. We saw several marmots and ground squirrels around these areas, and we chatted with other hikers who even reported seeing mountain goats—so keep your eyes peeled here!
After crossing the second log bridge around 6.5 miles into the trail (which is still a bit spooky, if you ask me!), we reached the last crossing of Conundrum Creek, which, for us, required wading through three feet of ice cold water. Between the slippery river rocks and the fast current (plus the expensive camera gear in our bag), we were pretty worried about falling over, but managed to make it across the creek without faceplanting.
Just go slow, use your trekking poles, and you’ll be fine!
As noted above, the trail becomes noticeably steeper after the third stream crossing, climbing sharply through a pine tree forest. Accordingly, we were pretty tired by the time we passed the first campsite on the campground (#20) and were VERY excited about how close we (thought we) were to our campsite (#14).
Still, we had about another half mile or so of uphill climbing until we actually got to our campsite, a flat dirt patch surrounded by pine trees, with peekaboo views of a mountain off in the distance.
At the Conundrum Hot Springs campground
During our hike, we were pretty surprised how few people we spotted along the trail—we only passed a handful of people hiking to or from the hot springs. But, once we got to the campground, it seemed like pretty much every site had at least a couple of tents pitched in them.
From chatting with other campers, it seems like most people arrive at Conundrum Hot Springs in the early afternoon, set up their campsite, soak in the hot springs until the evening hours, and just head back to the trailhead on the following day.
We hoped to skip the afternoon/evening crowds in the hot springs and decided to set up our camp, make dinner, and wake up early the following morning to enjoy the pool to ourselves.
And it worked!
We woke up around 6 AM to head to the hot springs and had them totally to ourselves for a couple of hours before we decided to get out, pack up, and head back to the trailhead.
Soaking in the hot springs was an ABSOLUTELY magical experience—from watching the pinky glow of the rising sun light up the Rocky Mountains to even having a very chill deer come and hang out just a few feet from us!
Conundrum Hot Springs campground back to the trailhead
Our hike back to the trailhead was pleasant, but generally unremarkable.
We passed a guy who had spotted a bull moose just shortly up the trail, but we didn’t wind up spotting him (it’s actually quite hard to spot wildlife amongst the thick brush).
However, we did spot more marmots, a few more deer, and lots of butterflies, flitting through the wildflowers here.
We made it back to our car in a little over four hours (which is WAY faster than our hike up to the hot springs)—tired, but so happy to have had such an incredible time on this beautiful corner of our planet!
There you have it—everything you need to know about hiking the Conundrum Hot Springs Trail! We honestly had SO much fun on this beautiful hike and can’t wait to come back someday!
Do you have any questions about hiking this trail? Let us know in the comments below!
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