The Three Pass Loop provides an alternative to the Four Pass Loop for a long day of trail running in the Elk Mountains. And, it doesn't need parking reservations. While the overall experience might not *quite* match up to its nearby, more famous neighbor, it's a great day out with incredible scenery and less logistics. You can do the loop either directions but I describe in clockwise here. The Three Pass Loop is around 22 miles with 6,000 ft of elevation gain. It's a pretty nice "up, then down" loop, with the first half being a climb (with a few up and downs on the passes), followed by the second half downhill.

Starting at the Maroon-Snowmass trailhead, you'll have a steady climb up to Snowmass Lake for the first 8 miles, with around 2500 ft of gain. From here, you'll take a left and intersect with part of the Four Pass Loop, heading up toward Buckskin Pass. You'll likely cross paths with runners and hikers headed the opposite direction in this section, and it'll be your busiest section of the trail (depending on time of day.

After Buckskin you'll descend off the pass and take another left onto the less-travelled Willow Lakes Trail for another short but steep ascent to your second pass of the day. The Willow Lake Basin is beautiful, and quiet -- for some reason most hikers don't hop over in this direction. Follow adownhill traverse into the basin and take the left fork onto the East Snowmass Trail. Climb your last pass of the day.

‍

From here, it's about 7 miles of downhill running back to the road.