# What an Aspen trip costs

> What Aspen really costs in 2026–27: lift tickets, lessons, lodging taxes, dinners, transfers and parking, with the ways to spend less where it doesn't matter.

Canonical page: https://aspenprive.com/aspen-trip-cost/  
Updated: 2026-09-30 · Publisher: Aspen Privé (local Aspen stay planning and concierge)

The big lines are **lodging**, **lift tickets** and **dinners**. Lift tickets are dynamically priced, so **buying 30+ days ahead saves up to 25%**, and **children 6 and under ski free**. Lodging carries **12.35% to 22.35% tax**. Getting around can cost nothing: **RFTA buses between the airport, town and all four mountains are free**.

Every price below comes from the operator or the city and is linked at the foot of the page; checked September 2026. Aspen prices move with the date, so treat them as a planning guide and confirm before booking.

## Lift tickets and lessons

- **Daily tickets**: Priced by date, one ticket for all four mountains. Up to 25% off bought 30+ days ahead, up to 20% at 7 days.
- **Early and late season**: $103 adults, $85 children, teens and seniors, opening day to December 20, 2026 and from March 29, 2027, with two or more nights booked through Stay Aspen Snowmass at least 7 days ahead.
- **Children**: Ages 6 and under ski free, every day, all season.
- **With a lesson**: Any group lesson unlocks a $174 adult ticket ($86 ages 7–17 and 65+).
- **Private lessons**: From $697 for up to five people; tickets and rentals extra.
- **Ikon Pass**: Includes 7 days combined at Aspen Snowmass; for a week's trip it often beats daily tickets.

## Where you stay, and the tax on it

- **Lodges and hotels**: 12.35% combined tax on the room in 2026.
- **Owner-occupied rentals**: 17.35%.
- **Investment and second-home rentals**: 22.35%, so a large house carries a large tax line; ask for the total, not the nightly rate.
- **The top end**: The White Elephant, opened June 2026, announced rates from $1,995 a night.
- **Peak weeks**: Rates peak December 20 to January 4, X Games weekend and Presidents' week.

## Transfers, taxis and parking

- **Free**: RFTA buses from the airport into Aspen and Snowmass, between the towns and between all four mountains in winter.
- **Taxi from the airport**: High Mountain Taxi, metered: about $25–35 to Aspen, $50–65 to Snowmass.
- **Private car**: Aspen airport from $195 per vehicle; Eagle or Rifle from $850; Denver from $1,650; by the hour from $210.
- **Parking**: Downtown meters $5–7 an hour in peak season; Rio Grande garage $15 a day; Highlands garage $35–50 a day; Buttermilk free.

## Tell us the budget, not just the dates (what Aspen Privé arranges)

We live in Aspen. Tell us what matters on the trip and what you'd like to spend, and we'll say where it goes furthest. [Plan with us](https://aspenprive.com/contact.html?service=trip-planning).

## Dinners and lunches

- **The expensive nights**: Bosq (one Michelin star), Element 47, Matsuhisa and Casa Tua are special-occasion dinners, and holiday weeks fill early. [Aspen restaurants](https://aspenprive.com/aspen-restaurants/).
- **Lunch is the value meal**: Some of the harder rooms are easier at lunch or the bar; White House Tavern takes no reservations.
- **Restaurant Week**: Aspen's first autumn Restaurant Week (September 21–27, 2026) had $45, $75 and $95 prix fixe menus at more than 25 restaurants.
- **A night at the house**: For a group, a private chef on the busiest night is often better value than a restaurant table for ten, and nobody drives. [Private chef](https://aspenprive.com/private-chef-aspen/).

## The extras people budget for

- **Snowcat skiing**: Aspen Powder Tours on the back of Aspen Mountain: $850 a seat.
- **Sleigh-ride dinner**: Pine Creek Cookhouse: $195 per adult.
- **Silver Queen Gondola**: $40 an adult in summer.
- **Free**: The Aspen Art Museum, 90 km of Nordic trails, and the buses to all of it.

## Where to save and where to spend

- **Save**: Buy lift tickets a month out, ride the free buses, ski Buttermilk with small children, and eat the big meal at lunch.
- **Spend**: The two or three dinners that matter, a lesson on day one, and the transfer from the airport after a long travel day.
- **Watch**: The tax on a rental, holiday-week premiums on everything, and the 2027 airport closure (April 4 to November 19), which turns every arrival into a longer drive.

## Questions

**How much is a lift ticket in Aspen?**  
Daily tickets are priced by date and cover all four mountains; buying 30 or more days ahead saves up to 25%. Early and late season (to December 20, 2026 and from March 29, 2027) tickets are $103 for adults with a two-night Stay Aspen Snowmass booking. Children 6 and under ski free.

**Is Aspen expensive?**  
Yes: lodging, lift tickets and dinners are among the highest in US skiing. But buses between the airport, town and all four mountains are free, children 6 and under ski free, and buying tickets a month ahead saves up to 25%.

**What is the lodging tax in Aspen?**  
In 2026, 12.35% at a traditional lodge, 17.35% at an owner-occupied or lodge-exempt rental, and 22.35% at an investment or second-home rental.

**How much is a taxi from Aspen airport?**  
About $25–35 to downtown Aspen and $50–65 to Snowmass with High Mountain Taxi. The RFTA bus is free, and a private car starts at $195 per vehicle.

**When is Aspen cheapest?**  
Early December and late season (from late March) for skiing, and the shoulder weeks of late April to May and late October to Thanksgiving, when many places close.

## What Aspen Privé can arrange for this

Airport cars, drivers for the big nights, a chef at the house. Arranged so the trip runs smoothly.

- [Private airport transfer](https://aspenprive.com/aspen-airport-transportation/) (From $195 per vehicle): From Aspen's airport to the door in a private SUV, timed to your actual landing.
- [A driver for the evening](https://aspenprive.com/contact.html?service=evening-driver) (From $210 per hour): A car and driver on call for dinner and the night out, so nobody hunts for a taxi at midnight.
- [Denver to Aspen by private car](https://aspenprive.com/denver-to-aspen-private-car/) (From $1,650 per vehicle): Winter-equipped vehicle and driver for the four-hour drive, re-timed as roads change.
- [Ski rental delivered](https://aspenprive.com/ski-rental-delivery-aspen/): Fitted at the residence, not in a shop queue.

## Sources (checked September 30, 2026)

- [Aspen Snowmass: lift tickets](https://www.aspensnowmass.com/visit/tickets-and-passes/lift-tickets)
- [Aspen Snowmass: early and late lift tickets](https://www.aspensnowmass.com/visit/packages-and-deals/early-and-late-lift-tickets)
- [Aspen Snowmass: private lessons](https://www.aspensnowmass.com/visit/lessons/private-lessons)
- [City of Aspen: lodging and short-term rental taxes](https://aspen.gov/1427/Lodging-and-Short-Term-Rental-Taxes)
- [High Mountain Taxi: rates](https://www.hmtaxi.com/taxi-rates-for-vail-aspen)
- [RFTA: routes](https://www.rfta.com/routes/)
- [City of Aspen: parking rates](https://www.aspen.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/917)
- [Aspen Chamber: Restaurant Week](https://aspenchamber.org/events/aspen-restaurant-week-autumn/)

## Related

- [Lift tickets and passes](https://aspenprive.com/aspen-lift-tickets-and-passes/): How to pay less for the same days.
- [Where to stay in Aspen](https://aspenprive.com/where-to-stay-in-aspen/): Town, Snowmass or a house.
- [The best time to visit](https://aspenprive.com/best-time-to-visit-aspen/): Crowds, prices and snow by month.

To plan or request any of this: https://aspenprive.com/plan-your-trip/ · https://aspenprive.com/contact.html