Located high in the Rocky Mountains, Aspen is the 53rd largest city in the state. Two hundred miles southwest of Denver and 130 miles east of Grand Junction, it is at the southeastern end of the Roaring Fork Valley. The Roaring Fork Valley stretches from Glenwood Springs and the Northwest end to Aspen on the Southeast end. Aspen is surrounded by the White River National Forest. Aspen encompasses 3.66 square miles and is a relatively flat valley floor surrounded on three sides by Aspen, Smuggler and Red Mountains. It was founded in 1880 and incorporated in 1881. Aspen is internationally renowned as a winter and summer resort. 

Aspen was fortunate to have attracted the likes of Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke who saw the potential of an idealized model of civilization: a place where physical activity, art, music and the humanities would together enrich the spirit and elevate society. This culminated in the Aspen Idea - the complete person living in a community that nourished the mind, body and spirit of its citizens.