Driving the scenic Castle Creek Road in CO with beautiful aspen trees

Castle Creek Road (County Road 15) is a very scenic drive while seeing beautiful aspen trees in Pitkin County, in the U.S. state of Colorado.

Castle Creek Road

Set high in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains in the Elk Range, the windy road is totally paved with a very good road surface. It’s very scenic, with plenty of spots to pull off and take some photos. The scenery is magnificent and there’s not much traffic. The road leads to Ashcroft, a silver mining ghost town founded in 1880 and featuring the restored remains of several historic buildings.

Located south of Aspen, into the Ashcroft Valley, the road is usually impassable around November 15th and reopens no later on or around May 15th. There are a number of unforgettable hikes you can take as you drive the road. The gorgeous drive features a few steep sections and tight turns. At the end of the road, a minor unpaved road climbs up to Taylor Peak at 3.602m (11,817ft) above the sea level.

The road is steep. Starting at Aspen, the road is 21.24km (13.2 miles) long. Over this distance the elevation gain is 562 meters. When the pavement ends, a minor gravel road known as Cooper Creek Road climbs up to 3.468m (11,377ft) above the sea level.

 

 

Drive Us to Your Road!

With over 13,000 roads cataloged, we're always on the lookout for unique routes. Know of a road that deserves to be featured? Click here to share your suggestion, and we may add it to dangerousroads.org.