Location
Where is Crested Butte?
Crested Butte is nestled in a high valley of the Colorado Rockies. More specifically, it’s in the southwest region of Colorado (western slope) and the western part of the Elk Mountain Range. The closest ‘large’ town is Gunnison, but it’s also really close to Aspen, especially in the summertime when mountain passes are open.
Part of the appeal of this remote location is its distance from the traffic and congestion of the I-70 resorts and Front Range cities. The air is pristine, the views are breathtaking and the water is pure. It’s pretty easy to get here, but much harder to leave. There are many methods of transportation to choose from: By air, car or even on foot, bike or skis.
Driving time from Denver is around 4 hours and just under that from Colorado Springs. If you’re flying into Gunnison, it’s about a 40 minute drive to Crested Butte. The drive through the scenic mountains of Colorado in the summertime is one worth taking from any of these locations.
How to get to Crested Butte by Air
Gunnison - 40 minute drive to Crested Butte. This is the #1 option and recommendation with the quickest drive. Book a rental car well in advance - Hertz, Avis, Budget service here but vehicles go quick during high seasons.
Montrose - 2 hour drive to Crested Butte. Note - There is road construction going on Highway 50 between Montrose and Gunnison during 2023-2024 which may take longer than 2 hours.
Denver or Colorado Springs - 4 to 5 hour drive to Crested Butte depending on traffic. Usually the cheapest flights but farthest drive.
Location of our Home
Once in Crested Butte, our home is located in a private gated community called Trappers at Wildcat. Our home is a 4 mile drive from downtown Crested Butte which is a short 10 minute drive. Our home sits on a ridge, 700 feet directly above downtown Crested Butte, and our home is the ONLY house on this ridge line. In the wintertime you need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to manage the snow/ice but in the summertime a 2-wheel drive vehicle is perfect. In the summertime you can walk to downtown Crested Butte via the Green Lake trail which is a 2 mile downhill hike and takes less than 1 hour.
Walk to Town from the House
2 mile downhill walk along the Green Lake Trail to downtown that takes a little less than a hour from the front door. With little kids we recommend walking to town for breakfast/lunch/park with the kids and then having someone drive to town and run shuttle. Load the kids up in a car after lunch/breakfast/park in town and then drive back to the house to eliminate the uphill hike back to the house. We do this hike to town with 3+ year olds all the time when there isn’t snow present on the Green Lake Trail. The red path on the image below is for the hike to downtown from the house on the Green Lake Trail.
