"One of the most beautiful places in New Mexico to view the changing of aspen to their golden fall color is the drive north of Santa Fe into the Santa Fe ski basin. The first or second week of October is typically the best time to see this spectacular color change. Someone added a very obscure peak to the peakbagger.com website, Little Tesuque Peak, elevation 11,182. Its prominence is only 42 feet and I could have had this several times before, coming off of big Tesuque Peak, which sits directly to the east. I also decided to hike beautiful golden Aspen Peak, 11,109. I hiked this peak once before. I went with my friend Dave H. We both go Calvary Church in Albuquerque and met in the church parking lot at 8:00 AM, Friday October 7, 2022. We headed north, stopping for some pictures along the way and were hiking a little before 10:00 AM. It was a very cool misty morning. The temperature was 41 degrees. I gave Dave an extra jacket. The starting elevation was 10,260. We parked in the ski basin parking lot, crossed over a pretty little stream, up the road a bit, then directly up a ski run. It was a little bit of a chug, but not overly difficult. It was beautiful seeing the misty cloud..." — Phil-Robinson • Oct 7, 2022

"Beautiful day. Highest peak in elevation for R. Easy climb through a beautiful alpine landscape. Tons of wildflowers, beautifully overcast skies, and mild temps. Everything about this area is wonderfu." — danielmartin • Aug 5, 2022

"We, two humans and two dogs, hadn't planned on actually doing Aspen Peak today but I have a hard time not pursuing if I am nearby. So we did. It was ABSOLUTELY stunning. Still quite a bit of snow up there but it was hardened so not too strenuous. Beautiful, clear day with only feather thin cirrus clouds stretching across the skies towards Santa Fe Baldy. Beautiful north view all the way to Colorado. " — saraculler • Feb 25, 2017

"On Friday morning, October 7, 2011, my daughter Christina and I and our dog Daisy left the house at 5:40 to head to Aspen Basin to hike Aspen Peak north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. As we were driving up the aspen trees were in all their golden glory. It was a beautiful drive! We arrived after about 2 hours and parked below the Santa Fe Ski parking area. It was a very chilly cloud covered morning with temperatures in the upper 30’s. We put on our jackets and began to hike the Winsor Trail. Our starting elevation was 10,250. At the lower elevations the aspens were in full color, but at higher elevations most of the leaves had fallen. Still there were many beautiful aspens that had not dropped their leaves. As we hiked the ground looked like it was covered in golden coins from the fallen aspen leaves. We followed the Winsor Trail north until we arrived at the saddle and the beginning of the Pecos Wilderness. From this point on we bushwhacked it west straight up the hill. All the ground was golden. It was a beautiful hike. We arrived at the top after a 1 hour hike and 1.3 miles. This was Christina’s 7th peak. The top was all white aspen bark trees. There was a very slight dusting of snow ..." — Phil-Robinson • Oct 7, 2011