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flex-wrap: wrap;
justify-content: center;
margin: 20px 0 10px;
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.attraction-map-buttons-container a {
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flex-basis: 150px;
max-width: 200px;
margin: 0 7px 10px;
font-weight: normal;
}

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display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
justify-content: center;
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.attraction-activities-btns-container a {
flex-grow: 1;
flex-shrink: 1;
flex-basis: 150px;
max-width: 200px;
margin: 0 7px 10px;
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text-overflow: ellipsis;
}

This very popular trail begins just a few miles from Aspen, running through dense aspen and then pine forests to a beautiful alpine lake, towered over by stunning Cathedral Peak. Most hikers stop after the steep ascent to the lake, but you can continue up to Electric Pass (at 13,500 feet, it’s the highest named trail pass in Colorado) for unmatched views of the Elk Mountains. It’s a 5.2-mile hike to the top of the pass.

As a native Midwesterner who moved to Colorado in 2004, I had never laid eyes on the Rocky Mountains. I imagined the Alps, but many of the peaks of the Front Range are eroded humps, nothing like the jagged peaks of my imagination. Then I visited the Aspen area and hiked to Cathedral Lake. Here were the mountains I imagined, forbidding, pointed, and untamed. The weather was good so I continued on to Electric Pass, where I finally experienced Colorado in all its rugged glory. I have since learned to find beauty in any mountain, but the Elk Mountains will always have a place in my heart.

Pro Tips

Recommended season(s): Summer to early fall.

–R. Scott Rappold