31.6
PDI
5.3 mi
DISTANCE
2,892 ft
GAINED
10.4 %
AVG. GRADE
FULL CLIMB STATS
Page Contributor(s): il Rocky Creek, Basalt, CO; Adam Funk, Aspen, CO
INTRO
Midnight Mine Road is a short, steep 5.3-mile dirt climb up the back flank of Aspen Mountain in Pitkin County, Colorado, gaining 2,892 feet at a 10.4% average grade - one of the steeper gravel climbs in our worldwide database, currently ranked #34. It runs from Castle Creek Road, past the Little Annie Road junction, to the Aspen Mountain Sundeck near the top of the ski area, and connects into Richmond Hill Road for riders looking to extend the route.
It's a genuinely steep, sustained dirt-road effort - rideable on a gravel bike per multiple local riders, though a mountain bike or lower gearing takes some of the sting out of the pitch.
The surface is a maintained dirt/4WD doubletrack; Pitkin County commissioners rejected a paving proposal in 2016, so expect it to stay unpaved. It's popular with hikers, runners, and mountain bikers as well as cyclists, and doubles as a snowshoe/fat-bike route once winter sets in.
The road takes its name from the Midnight Mine, a silver-lead-zinc mine driven into the mountain along the "Annie Fault" in nearby Queens Gulch. The Midnight Mining Company reorganized in 1917 and spent roughly a decade driving a mine tunnel about a mile and a half long, striking rich ore in 1925; it went on to become the last of Aspen's mines to close, in the early 1950s, having produced tens of millions of dollars worth of silver.
PLAN YOUR ROUTE
We've partnered with Sherpa-Map.com to bring you the best route planning tool. With a PRO Membership you can use this climb as a reference when creating your route. Midnight Mine Road packs 2,892 feet of gain into just 5.3 miles for a 10.4% average grade - among the steepest gravel climbs in our database, with essentially no flat sections to recover on. The pitch is sustained rather than concentrated in one brutal section; expect a steady, unrelenting grade in the 8-12% range for most of the climb as it works up the mountainside from Castle Creek Road to the Sundeck.
Roadway: Midnight Mine Road is a maintained dirt and gravel 4WD road (Forest Service Road 118 / Pitkin County Road 15A) - Pitkin County commissioners rejected a 2016 proposal to pave it, so it's likely to stay unpaved for the foreseeable future. Riders describe the surface as generally smooth and rideable on a gravel bike despite the steep, sustained grade, though a mountain bike or lower gearing helps on the pitch.
Traffic: This is a public road that sees residential and Forest Service traffic along with plenty of hikers, runners, and mountain bikers, but it's not a through-road for general traffic, so vehicle volume stays low. It's popular enough with the local outdoor community that you likely won't be riding alone.
Parking: There's no formal trailhead lot; riders typically start from a pullout along Castle Creek Road at the base of Midnight Mine Road, or simply ride out from downtown Aspen, which has full services for anything you need beforehand.
The grade is steep and sustained (10.4% average with no real breaks), so low gearing matters more here than tire width - a compact or sub-compact setup will make a real difference. Standard gravel tires (35-40mm) are fine for the generally smooth dirt surface. Aspen has every service you'd need - bike shops, water, food - so there's no need to carry more than you would for any mountain ride, but this is high elevation, so acclimatize if you're not used to altitude and watch for fast-moving afternoon thunderstorms in summer.
Before heading out on any cycling adventure check out our Things to Bring on a Cycling Trip and use our interactive check list to ensure you don't forget anything.
Midnight Mine Road climbs right out of Aspen, so lodging, food, and bike support are all a short ride away in town. The road connects to Little Annie Road and Richmond Hill Road, so riders often combine it into a longer loop using Aspen Mountain's summer road back down into town. It's popular much of the year but also doubles as a winter snowshoe and fat-bike route once snow sets in, so check seasonal conditions if you're visiting outside summer. As with most Aspen-area climbs at elevation, watch for fast-moving afternoon thunderstorms in summer.
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1WaterTight1
Great climb, mtb gearing wouldn't be a bad idea for this and Little Annies or the Aspen summer road. A killer loop would be to ride up the summer road, down LA to Castle Creek then back up Midnight to the top and down into town on the summer road, approx 8800' of climbing, no cars.
