Crested Butte Travel Guide

Crested Butte © Larry D. Moore

Overview The popular holiday destination of Crested Butte is located in Gunnison County, considered the wildflower capital of Colorado. Regardless, when the resort is covered in white each winter, the flowers are forgotten and skiers from all over the world descend on this resort town, often touted as one of the best extreme skiing locations in the world. Both the US Extreme Skiing Championships and X-Games have been hosted here but the extensive terrain has something to offer everyone. The resort town is famous and well loved within the skiing community as a laidback, unpretentious, fun-loving place to visit, Worth Getting To, as their saying goes.

Skiing Although the reputation and renown for this resort is in the extreme skiing arena, there truly is something for all types. Most of the mountain is suited for intermediate skiers and riders though with equal terrain suitable for beginners and experts. Crested Butte also has a terrain park, Canaan, with a number of jumps, tables and rails for beginners and intermediates. There is also a Superpipe at the top of Forest Queen, and a mini half pipe for beginners in the terrain park.

Shopping Crested Butte has almost anything holidaying visitors could possibly want for mountain sports including rental and repair shops too. These include Christy Sports, Butte & Co. and Flatiron Sports. For other shopping needs, the resort is quite limited and sells souvenirs and t-shirts at The Sweet Shirt Shoppe, and The Perfect High And Secret Stash Gifts sell a range of eclectic products including candles and massage oils.

Restaurants There are fantastic restaurants offering everything for all nationalities of holidaymakers across the town. Lil's Land & Sea offers the best of both worlds with an extensive menu of sushi, seafood, vegetarian, and grilled meat varieties. The Wooden Nickel sells the best steaks from fillet mignon to New York Strips while the Secret Stash boasts having the best pizza in town. For fine dining head up the mountain for Dinner @ 10,000 Feet with a sleigh ride preceding a romantic four-course meal.

Nightlife For a small mountain, Crested Butte has a charm that relies on the friendliness of the regulars and holidaymakers who frequent the bars, pubs and breweries. Princess Wine Bar opens daily at 5pm and has a wide selection of award-winning wines, cognacs and single malt scotches and often has live entertainment in the evenings. Talk of the Town offers a variety of bar games, such as foosball, pinball, pool and video games, and of course a happy hour every afternoon, while the Crested Butte Brewery is a popular microbrewery with live music and dancing on weekends.

Activities There are many popular activities for the whole family, including tubing, sleigh rides and dog sled tours. The Nordic centre offers 25 miles (35km) of groomed trails for skating, snow-shoeing and sledding. Worth visiting is the historic town or the heritage museum to find out about Crested Butte's colourful past. During summer months, mountain biking is extremely popular and it is even rumoured to have started here where the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame has been created. Also available in summer is hiking, camping, fishing and whitewater rafting.

Negatives Crested Butte is farther out than other popular Colorado resorts and some 250 miles (400km) from Denver International Airport.

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