"Hi Salle-
I just wanted to Thank You for a wonderful stay in Crested Butte. Your place was perfect. In addition to the oh so comfortable couch and ultra plush towels, we really liked your book collection - and our daughter loved the little toy train. The location was so close to Main Street (and Camp4 coffee!) that our 3 year old rode her bike everyday throughout town. We will definitely stay at your place when we visit Crested Butte again.
Thank you again, C..."

Table of Contents:
1. House Info
2. Pictures
3. Rates
4. Crested Butte Info

Colorado real estate has never been as inviting as this beautiful rental house complete with all the amenities to comfortably house 3 to 6 adults in picturesque Crested Butte, Colorado. Enjoy every seasonal activity to its fullest! Crested Butte has some of the best skiing around, as well as hiking, biking, or fishing in nearby rivers. Whether you seek entertainment or meditation, you'll find it all here in this quiet, spacious home.

Pictures	Back to Top
Click Photos Below to Enlarge Outside in Winter Outside in Summer Dining Area Living Room Kitchen Bedroom Bedroom Winter Summer Aerial Map Winter Wonderland Plenty of Snow

Contact:

Salle or Brad

Telephone/Fax: (612) 822-4273 / (612) 810-7064

Email: info@crestedbuttehouse.com

See the house on VRBO at: http://www.vrbo.com/43917

About Crested Butte
This is a laid-back town! It's very casual, and very friendly. A genuine sense of hospitality comes from such simple pleasures as wildflower hikes and bicycling through amazing scenery. There are about 1,500 year-round residents in town, and about 5,000 in the upper east river valley. Crested Butte or "The Butte", has been marketed as "The Last Great Colorado Ski Town," and is designated a National Historic District. One of the coolest things about Crested Butte is that there really isn't much in the way of socio-economic divisions. Everybody blends, and money means little when you're surrounded by such majestic beauty. I've always said that it's the greatest place in the world to be poor. And you've never seen such beautiful smiles! Take a few years off life to be in the midst of it, and you'll add years to your life with a whole new outlook ... but be careful, you may never move away.

Or just get a taste - stay for awhile, and rent our house!

Getting to Town

We are easy to get to - just 28 miles from Gunnison Crested Butte Airport at the north end of the Gunnison Valley . You can fly right into Gunnison and catch a shuttle up to Crested Butte. For shuttle reservations, call 800-822-4844. United flies in on a small plane from Denver to Gunnison a few times a day. Another option would be flying into Montrose, CO, which is about an hour and 45 minutes drive from the west. Or you can fly to Denver , which is about a 4.5 hour drive down 285 South to 50 West to 135 North to the Stop sign in Crested Butte. We're about 3.5 hours from Grand Junction. During summer and ski seasons there is also a jet service from some cities in Texas.

In the winter: You really don't need a car in town in the winter. There is a free bus shuttle that goes from town up to Mt. Crested Butte where the ski area is located every 15 minutes, all day every day. If you prefer a car, rentals are available at the airport in Gunnison.

In the summer, a car can be nice if you want to drive to a hiking trailhead, or to the rivers to fish, or take a day trip down to Lake City or Blue Mesa Resevoir type of thing. But if you're just hanging close to town, it's easy to be self reliant on foot or bike for food, hikes, or biking. There is a free shuttle but it runs just once an hour up to Mt. Crested Butte. You can rent bikes a few different places and we have a bike rack to lock your ride to at the house.

Geologically speaking, we're in the midst of the Elk Mountains, only about 30 miles south of Aspen (the way the crow flies). But the drive to Aspen in the summer is 2.5 hours, and in the winter about 4 hours.

Water: You can drink the water and it's never tasted so good, we're at the top of the source. Of course, there was a mine above us, but they've cleaned it up and it's plenty safe to drink it. So don't worry about buying water once here.

Fishing: There is great trout fishing on all the tributaries to the Gunnison River . Catch and Release is the norm, so don't expect to have a fish dinner. For a guide contact Dom at the Troutfitter 1-866-349-1323. His site is www.troutfitter.com , but it's pretty outdated, so you're best to give him a call. The best thing to do is float the Gunnison on his custom fishing rafts for some of the best fly-fishing experiences in the country.

Mountain Biking: Home of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, and world class trails for all levels. Many rides are right from town, and many that make it easier if you take a car to the trail head. But you could easily bike for 2 weeks from town to town, without having to shuttle. For rentals, contact www.Alpineer.com which is only one block from our house. They also have an easy to read guide book of the area. Fat Tire Bike Week is a pretty cool annual event.

Hiking: You can get a trail map at the Alpineer or the Troutfitter , who also does guided tours. There are lots of trails right from town or ones you can take a car to the trailhead. The hike to Aspen over west Maroon Pass is about 6 hours from the trailheads with a shuttle. You can get a ride up there from the Town Taxi and take the shuttle to Aspen on that side.

Swimming: The water is cold everywhere. BUT, there is one lake that is a 10 minute hike from the trailhead up Washington Gulch called Long Lake, which is warm enough to swim in. It's breathtakingly beautiful with privacy along the shoreline and even a rope swing in one spot. It's a few miles long, so you're bound to find a private spot for a picnic.

Road Biking: Not much of it, but you can bike to Gunnison and a ride up Taylor Canyon - I'd say leave that at home.

Kayaking: Water levels vary, obviously spring is the peak but it can go into late summer depending on the Taylor Dam release. Call Three Rivers resort for info.

Rafting: There is no rafting in Crested Butte, but The Taylor River feeds the Gunnison River and is about 45 minutes from town to the highest put in, it's short, but great. The Gunnison River is pretty and scenic with hardly much for rapids, and that put in is about 15 minutes down valley. If you're really looking for that white water adventure, there are better spots in Colorado , like Salida. If you want reserve something in the valley, call Scenic River Tours for info, they have the best outfit in the Valley. See them at http://www.scenicrivertours.com/ but reservation is hardly needed.

Rock Climbing: Some world class bouldering is just outside of town, and you can ride there or hike there from our house. It's at the base of the Upper Loop trail. Ask at the Alpineer for directions. It will keep you challenged and busy for as long as you want. For technical climbing, it's not such a great area. But there is a handful of climbs that are charted up Taylor Canyon with a parking area at the base of it. There is also some climbing up Cement Creek, but you'd have to hook up with the climbing community to find it or ask at the Alpineer. Otherwise, you can drive an hour to Penatenta Canyon for world class technical climbing. To hook up with Alan, the local mountain guide guru, go to http://www.crestedbutteguides.com/

Golf: You can play at the www.theclubatcrestedbutte.com/ which is only about 2 miles south of town. It's beautiful, challenging course designed by Robert Trent Jones. You can also play in Gunnison at Dos Rios, which pales in comparison, but it's still golf in the mountains.

Horseback Riding: A couple outfits around. Fantasy Ranch has some great horses in shape for mountain riding. www.fantasyranchoutfitters.com , and they do all sorts of guided tours, rides, and outfitting.

Nordic Skiing: Some of the greatest trials in Colorado, really! There is something like 30K of smooth cat groomed skate and classic trail, all from town! There is also numerous valleys to just ski up and back from a trailhead, there is always someone who's done it before you, so there are ski tracks to follow. You can walk from our house to most of the trail heads. Visit http://www.cbnordic.org for details. They have an annual Thanksgiving festival of clinics with some of the earliest skiing to be done in the state, and host the annual Ally Loop fun race (that's a 5k up to 42K, usually the first weekend in February, be sure to wear a costume).

Downhill Skiing: The skiing in CB for the advanced skier is nothing like anything anywhere in the world in bounds. The only places that would even compare would be Jackson Hole , Alta, and Chaminoux. But none of those have the acreage of expert double black runs. You could spend 2 years skiing the expert terrain at CB and STILL be finding new lines. I'm not kidding; it's so much fun to explore up there. The best thing to do is just ask a local at the top of the North Face if you can follow them to their favorite spot, 99% of the time, they'd be happy to take you on a run. For beginners, it's also a great place, there is a lot of terrain, and the ski school is full of friendly people who love to teach skiing. For intermediates, you'll probably ski all the blue runs in about 2-3 days, but if you're looking to advance, this the place and the ski school to do it with. The ski area was bought out in the spring of 2004, so a lot of changes will be happening, including plans to expand onto adjacent mountain of Snodgrass, bringing more intermediate terrain. For more info, see www.crestedbutteresort.com/ .

Snowmobiling: There are guided tours and unguided sleds available. If you have no knowledge of avalanche safety, get a guided tour. People often die in the area in avalanches - if you don't know anything, you're best off with someone who does, even if you're just going up the snow covered mountain roads. For guided tours, call Alpine Expeditions, 970-349-6598, for unguided call Moss at CB Snowmobiles, 970-209-0109.

Hockey: There are 2 outdoor rinks with boards and zambonis, so if you like hockey bring your skates and a stick for some pick up, it's a load of fun to play under the high mountain sun. But only weather permitting from about December 1 to February 15 th . Call the Nordic Center for details: 970-349-1707.

Yoga: There are at least 2 yoga studios in town, with some side classes going on too at various places. The main one is Half Moon Studio is Iyengar based and is on 4 th and Elk Ave. at 970-349-2425. The Bikram studio is on 2 nd street at 970-349-2800. You'll want to call or stop by for a schedule, but classes are everyday but Sundays, and cater to all levels at different times. The Yoga teachers are incredible, I highly recommend trying the Half Moon studio if you're a beginner or even if you just haven't done this type of yoga. They supply all the props, so just show up. Both are just a couple blocks from the house.

Summer Weather: For the summer, there temperature varies greatly from day to night. There is only about a week or two when it's comfortable to be in short sleeve shirts at night. It can be a dry hot 85 in the day, and get down to 35 at night, so bring warm clothes! The good part is, there is no humidity, and hardly any mosquitoes. Only an average of 45 days a year does it NOT freeze at night. In fact we can't grow many vegetables.

Winter Weather: Well, one reason so few people live here is that it's cold - really cold. 30 below isn't uncommon a night. Bring lots of warm layers. Even if it is cold there are lots of sunny days, so bring sunscreen, too.

Events: Be sure to check with the chamber calendar. This is important. For example, if you want to hit the crazy arts fair where the whole town is blocked off, or if you DON'T! See http://www.crestedbuttechamber.com/ . In the summer, there is some beautiful outdoor music on Monday nights in town, usually very small and acoustic but really fun with kids running around and people dancing in the mountain summer sunsets. You don't want to miss this local experience, so bring your blanket and some snacks. Check the local paper for the weekly events calendar. www.crestedbuttenews.com .

The Best Time to Go: We get this question a lot, and it's really hard to answer. What are you looking for?

Again, feel free to contact Salle or Brad with any questions - (612) 822-4273. Thanks!