A Winter Weekend in Crested Butte, Colorado

With its amazing views, rich mountain town culture, and some of the best, funnest outdoor recreation in Colorado, the small little town of Crested Butte has quickly moved its way up to my favorite mountain town in the state. Everything about this little town describes the perfect winter wonderland. While Crested Butte is known for some of the best and prettiest downhill skiing in the country, I thought I would put a list together of all of the other winter activities you can get up to in this little mountain town.

Where to stay:

The first thing you will want to do is find a lodge or B&B to stay at for the weekend. If you are looking for a place right in town near Main Street, my favorite place is Cristiana's Guesthaus. This little German B&B is located at the end of Main Street near the bus station. If you are looking for a place to stay up the hill a little ways, Nordic Inn is the perfect place. You are located right next to Crested Butte mountain and ski resort which gives you access to a ton of downhill skiing, and right up the road the other direction is a giant trail system of fat bike trails, and cross country ski trails. This is the perfect place to enjoy all of the mountain activities Crested Butte has to offer, and you can even catch a 10 minute bus into town which leaves right from the base of the ski resort. Which ever of these places you choose,  you will get a cozy living room area, filled with lots of games and books, and not to mention warm coffee all day! These two lodges will make your stay in Crested Butte feel like your own home.

What to do:

Now I bet you are wondering what you could possibly do in the snow if you are not going to go downhill skiing. Don't worry! That is exactly what cross country skiing is for! There are still so many options to be on skis if you don't want to go downhill skiing. Right at the south end of town, there is a Nordic ski rental shop, and you can grab some skis and boots and explore hundreds of trails for as long as you want. Just get the day pass. You can choose between a couple different forms of Cross country skiing: Classic cross country skiing, and skate skiing. My personal favorite is skate skiing. It is the hardest to learn, but is also the most interesting. Skate skiing feels like a unique combination of ice skating, skiing, and running. So you can imaging the workout you get. Especially when you are a learner like me. It is a super fun sport to try out and Crested Butte is one of the few places that has the trails for it. And once you get the hang of it, you can end up skiing miles and miles without even noticing. If you are looking for a more peaceful walk and not as big of a workout, classic cross country is just for you. Just pop on your skis, and get in the tracks. It takes walking to a whole other level. And a really fun level. You still can cover more ground on cross country skis, rather than just walking. And when there is a downhill, the tracks are your best friend because you just sit back and go, just like a roller coaster. Both of these types of skiing are great winter activities and most of the tracks around town aren't too crowded, so it will be easy to just get on and go. 

Definitely a must do while you are in Crested Butte is to go fat biking. There are tons of trails located at the base of the mountains and there is a bike rental shop right next to the nordic inn and the ski village. Even if you've never been on a fat bike before, the fat tires will make riding through the snow a dream. And even if you fall, the thick, powdery snow provides for a soft landing. Trust me. I would know. If you have ever mountain biked, you would think that fat biking is similar with just fatter wheels. It is nothing like mountain biking. It is so much different finding your path through snow than finding your path on a dirt trail. It was such a unique experience and would definitely recommend doing this when you visit Crested Butte.

If you are looking for another snow activity to keep you occupied in the Butte, snowshoeing is the perfect answer. This will be an amazing way to end your peaceful weekend in a winter wonderland. There are tons of places to do this, and the beauty of snowshoeing is you don't have to find a designated trail. When I go snowshoeing, I just pop them on wherever I feel like it, and start walking. It is more fun when you can find some fresh snow where no body has walked. Wearing big ovals on your feet can certainly make it hard to walk, but it is totally worth it once you realize the places those big oval things allow you to go. Unlike Nordic skiing, fat biking, and even walking, snowshoeing allows you to get farther into the backcountry to see views that you would otherwise never see. You can walk across deep snow without sinking in on every step. Crested Butte has amazing views, and huge jagged mountains everywhere you look. Like literally everywhere. So put on some snowshoes, go and find a nice hike off the grid, and you will be guaranteed to find some of the most amazing views you have ever seen!

Where to eat:

If you want to start the day right before having some fun in the snow, you are going to need to find a nice warm place for breakfast, and maybe a cup of coffee. I'm going to start with coffee, because if you are anything like me, that's really the most important part. Camp for Coffee - My favorite place to start the day with a hot cup o' Joe is Camp 4 Coffee. This place is one of the more unique coffee shops I've been to in Colorado. It's super small, has some great outdoor seating, and is covered in license plates from all over the United States. Octopus Coffee - If you have been to Camp 4 Coffee too many times and need another place, Octopus Coffee serves some great coffee and breakfast. They have been located at the very end of town for a couple years, and just recently opened up another location down in Grand Junction. T-Bar - This cute little coffee spot right on Main Street, serves not just delicious coffee, but also varieties of different teas. So if you are more of a tea person, this is definitely a great place to go. Now onto lunch and dinner. There are so many unique places to try whether you want to stay up on the mountain or down in town. Here are some of my favorites. Brick Oven Pizza - One of my personal favorite places for either lunch or dinner is Brick Oven Pizza. This place is serves really good food, is down to earth, and surprisingly not very touristy.  The Slogar - Located near the end of town, The Slogar serves a delicious family style fried chicken dinner. Its kind of like going to a restaurant for Thanksgiving. This is a great spot for a family dinner, and it definitely did not disappoint.