Grotto's Day Use Area

Description 

This area offers a good selection of sport, mixed and trad routes on great rock. The walls generally face southwest providing good morning shade but get a lot of sun in the afternoon. And like most areas on Independence Pass, crowds shouldn't be an issue especially since the approach is steep and the Grotto Wall is just up the road.

Getting There 

From Aspen head up the pass and look for the "Grottos Day Use Area" sign. This area is located past mile marker 50 and there is a gravel parking lot on the right. The trail is located on the north side of CO Hwy 82 at the "Grottos Day Use Area" sign for west bound traffic. Follow the obvious trail around the east side of a pond until you get to a large scree field. There are some cairns marking a slightly easier path up the scree, but if you lose them just keep going up and you'll end up at the Nude Buttress. The Game Wall and Designer Wall are a little farther up the hill around the left side of Nude Buttress. Expect this approach to take about 20 to 30 minutes.

The Classics