Aspen,+CO

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 * Travel tips for Aspen:**
 * Aspen Wikitravel website:** []

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 * Mike Summers - July 2010:**

My son and I took a day trip to Aspen. We took the free bus from the Airport into town. Our plan was to rent bicycles and ride around on some trails. I printed a coupon for a reduced rate. Google "Aspen Bike Rentals" to see who has the best rates and/or coupons before your trip. We used Aspen Bike Tours and Rentals (website: [] ). We rented for the whole day. Ask them for a free bike lock to use during the day to protect your rental against theft. We followed the Rio Grande trail south from Aspen to Woody Creek, which is about 8.5 miles one way. Here's a map of the trail: []. At Woody Creek, there are signs directing you down to the Woody Creek Tavern (website: [] ). A word of caution: the Tavern only takes cash, but they do have an ATM on the side of the building. The food is good and if you check the website, you'll see that many celebrities frequent the establishment. Here's some information about Woody Creek: []. We returned to Aspen after our lunch. The steepest part of the ride is leaving Woody Creek and getting back up to the trail.

Upon returning to Aspen, we decided to take the Gondola up the mountain for some great views. Here's a website: []. It's a little pricey, but we enjoyed it.

If I was with an adult, instead of my 16 year old son, I would have visited the Aspen Brewing Company for a tour and some free samples. Here's the brewery website: [].

Here's a website with other Aspen information: [].

All-in-all, we had a fun day trip to Aspen. Enjoy!

Mike Summers

Kathy Lake & I really enjoyed our day trip to Aspen Oct. 18 on one of the new Lynx turbo props.
 * Becky Crozier - October 2008:**
 * Becky Crozier - October 2008:**

The actual air time was 28 enjoyable minutes with a bird’s eye view of mountain landmarks. Landing was very exciting! We looped around and around in an oblong spiral, then headed straight down to what seemed to be two strips of duct tape. Fortunately for us, it was indeed a landing strip! We de-planed and were greeting by two smiling Frontier employees.

We immediately loved the ambiance of the small mountain airport and the sincere congeniality of Ben, the Aspen native and new Frontier employee. There was also Sarah, a former Denver agent, who is happily living and loving her job there.

We picked up some brochures and maps, then headed out to the free bus. It runs every fifteen minutes to one hour, depending on the season and day of week. Here is the link for up-to-date transportation information: http://www.aspenpitkin.com/depts/57/

Once in town, we strolled through a farmer’s market before we turned our attention to some serious shopping in thrift and consignment stores. Gracy’s that I used to love seems to be gone now, but we found three others.

Susie's Limited 623 E Hopkins Ave Aspen, CO 81611-2271 (970) 920-2376

Uptown Exchange 517 E Hopkins Ave Aspen, CO 81611-1964 (970) 925-9818

Thrift Shop The 422 E Hopkins Ave Aspen, CO 81611-1908 (970) 925-312

I think there also might be one called Replay Sports, more for equipment and ski coats. I will check it out next time.

We ate lunch at Little Annie’s at 517 E. Hyman Ave. It is one Aspen’s oldest and most famous restaurants, serving the “best hamburgers in town.” Check out their menu and read their history at www.littleannies.com.

If you go to Aspen, be sure to mention that you work for Frontier. The store owners absolutely love the fact that we’re flying there now. We were lucky to be there during the “off season” so it seemed just like any small town with townspeople cheering for their favorite team at the central park. We didn’t really know what sport it was, but Chris McLaughlin, who just happened to be there with his wife and two small children, told us it was rugby, and that Aspen has quite a formidable team.

When you head back to the airport, be sure to watch for the bus stop. We almost missed it because it stops by Aspen Ski Corporation, on the other side of the highway from the airport. You have to walk up to the streetlight and cross over. If Chris hadn’t tapped us on the shoulder as a signal to get off, we would have found ourselves headed to Glenwood Springs. We had the same flight crew going back. Erin, one of the flight attendants, still had a bright smile for us. She is really a doll.

An interesting story about Chris McLaughlin is that he used to live in Aspen and had a blacksmith business there. He did that for a few years, then decided to get a job with Air Wisconsin in Aspen. He came over to Frontier in Denver, where he was influential in getting Frontier set up to fly to Aspen. He encouraged us to fly there even during ski season, but to avoid Saturdays because it’s the turn-over day for ski condo rentals. Midweek and Sundays should still be good for non-revs.

We have heard of a couple of inexpensive (yes, you read that right!) places to stay in town, but all in all, this is a very enjoyable day trip.