Snowmass Lake Zone Large Group

Permit cost: $10 per person

Permit required

Snowmass Lake Zone Large Group is a designated backcountry camp. You cannot reserve it directly — you must name it on a wilderness permit, and camping here without one is not permitted.

Apply for the permit on Recreation.gov

Location unknown

Snowmass Lake Zone Large Group is named on its wilderness permit, but no source publishes coordinates for it — so it won't appear on the map or in a search by area.

Permit holder and group (5-10 people) should select a campsite within the Snowmass Lake Zone that is already established, and follow Leave No Trace principles.

Coming soon.

• Bear canister required

• Campfires are not permitted in the Snowmass Lake Zone

• On a typical snow year, this campsite is snow covered from early October until late June

Fees

Overnight Permit Fee from May 1-Oct 31 is $10.00 per person, per night. 95% of these fees are directly re-invested into stewardship of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. Children 16 and under are free. The non-refundable reservation fee is $6.00 for each overnight permit.

Rules

When planning your trip, please keep the following in mind: The best time to visit the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness is July-September. From early October through the end of June the campsites, mountain passes, and trail are snow-covered, and trailheads may be inaccessible to vehicles. Permits are only available through Recreation.gov. Ranger stations will not issue permits. Permit holder (or alternate trip leader) must be present. Permits are non-transferrable. If the permit holder or alternate are not present, the permit is void. Alternate trip leader cannot be added after permit is purchased. Please enter an alternate before purchasing. This rule is in place to avoid abuse of permit system. Printed permit and photo ID must be carried by permit holder or alternate and displayed upon request of any Forest Officer. Permit can be printed as early as 14 days before your reservation date. Permit holder and group must camp in their reserved zone or at their reserved campsite at Conundrum Hot Springs, Crater Lake, and Capitol Lake Permit holder and group must reserve a spot for each night of their trip in the zone where they will camp Permits are limited to two permits per person, per calendar year Permits cannot overlap. I.e. A permit holder cannot reserve two permits for the same night. Permits cannot be booked into a future permit release window. I.e. A permit holder will not be able to book a permit starting July 31st and ending August 1st until the August permits are released. See "Important Dates" for permit release windows. Maximum length of stay per permit is seven nights You are responsible for your safety and for the safety of your group while traveling in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. A few more items to agree to and consider when planning include: You will be traveling in Black Bear country. Food, trash and any scented items must be stored in an IGBC approved bear resistant container. Visitors without approved bear resistant containers will be ticketed and required to leave. This may sound harsh, but we want to keep both bears and people safe. Local retailers rent and sell approved bear resistant containers. There are no toilets in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. Now’s the time to make a bathroom plan. Human waste bags (WAG) bags are highly recommended but not required. WAG bags must be packed out. Learn more about how to use a WAG bag. If a WAG bag is not used, visitors are required to deposit solid human waste in holes dug six to eight inches deep at least 200 feet (70 paces) from water, camp and trails. Group size is limited to the maximum number of persons allowable at the campsite, with total group size limited to 10 if multiple campsites are reserved. Dogs are prohibited in the Conundrum Hot Springs Zone. Dogs must be on leash everywhere else in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. Campfires are prohibited at all designated sites at Conundrum Hot Springs, Crater Lake, Capitol Lake, and above 10,800 feet anywhere in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness (including Snowmass Lake). Campfires consume wood, accumulate trash, kill fragile alpine vegetation, sterilize the soil and scar the land. Wilderness rangers hike hundreds of pounds of garbage out of the Wilderness every year. As with all designated Wilderness, aircraft, motorized equipment and mechanized transport are prohibited including bicycles, motorbikes, chainsaws, ATVs, carts, drones, hang gliders and paragliders. This equipment is prohibited to provide visitors with a primitive recreational experience and to preserve outstanding opportunities for solitude. Overnight pack and saddle stock are not allowed at any designated campsite in the Conundrum Hot Springs or Capitol Lake permit zones. Exact conditions at the time of your trip will not be known. Remember that you are traveling in a remote, wild place. Plan and prepare accordingly and embrace the elements of the unknown that wilderness provides.