Gay Guide to Aspen
Listing and event details can change quickly. Please verify with the venue directly before visiting. Lavender Atlas is not responsible for third-party accuracy.
About LGBTQ+ Aspen
Aspen was the first city in Colorado to protect gay people from discrimination, with an ordinance passed in the late 1970s that Boulder and Denver later followed. Those ordinances were exactly what Colorado voters went after in 1992. Amendment 2 was written to cancel the protections in Aspen, Boulder and Denver and to stop any town from passing new ones, and the Supreme Court struck it down in 1996 in Romer v. Evans.
Aspen Gay Ski Week grew out of the same years. In 1977 a group of locals and leaders of gay ski clubs from Chicago, Los Angeles and beyond pushed to secure space in Aspen's restaurants and public places for their January visits, and the week that followed became the longest-running gay ski week in America. The 2027 edition, January 17 to 24, is its 50th, with group skiing by day and parties across Aspen and Snowmass by night.
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The Limelight Hotel, a short walk from the base of Aspen Mountain, has been the week's host hotel for years and is where the daily après has been held.
Proceeds go to AspenOUT, the LGBTQ+ nonprofit for the Roaring Fork Valley, founded in 1996 and based down the valley in Basalt. The rest of the year it runs monthly gatherings at the Artbase, youth hikes around Aspen and Snowmass and an online support group, and it underwrites mental health care for queer people across the valley.
Aspen is a small town with no gay district, so outside January the scene is mostly AspenOUT's calendar. Hotel space during Gay Ski Week is tight, so book early. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport is a few miles from town, and Denver is a long, scenic drive east over the Continental Divide.
Upcoming Events
The LGBTQ+ nonprofit for the Roaring Fork Valley, founded in 1996 and the beneficiary of Aspen Gay Ski Week, running monthly gatherings, youth hikes, an online support group and mental health support across the valley.
Hotel a short walk from the base of Aspen Mountain and the longtime host hotel of Aspen Gay Ski Week, where the week's daily après has been held.