This opinionated guide showcases the best hikes in one of Colorado's premier hiking areas, the Sawatch and Elk Mountains around the towns of Aspen, Buena Vista, Crested Butte, Marble and Leadville. The Sawatch and Elk Mountain ranges offer the quintessential Rocky Mountain hiking experience with the trails that take you above timberline to beautiful mountain lakes nestled in dramatic cirques, to passes with see forever views and to glorious alpine meadows filled with wildflowers. Three national forests and six wilderness areas protect this amazing landscape. Over 200 peaks rise above...