Let me first say, if you’re driving from Denver or another place that’s hours away, I do not recommend a day trip lol it was exhausting and you’ll likely fall asleep on your drive home. I only did this because I had an elopement here and then other commitments that week, so I couldn’t spend more time!
This can serve as a day trip guide or spread it out over the weekend!
Here we go - breakfast, hiking, driving, shopping, and dinner in Crested Butte!
THE DRIVE
If you’re coming in from the northeast, you’ll most likely take Cottonwood Pass which is a beautiful drive in itself! Make sure you stop at the summit of Cottonwood Pass to pull off and stretch your legs on a little jaunt around the mountain. There are plenty of longer trails here that would be fun to explore, but we just got out and walked about 5 minutes up to this gorgeous viewpoint!
You’ll also pass Cottonwood Hot Springs on your way out which we haven’t been to, but I’ve heard is nice! Beware…clothing is optional!
BREAKFAST
BUTTE BAGELS
ABOUT: OMG. I crave this daily since we’ve been. It was SO GOOD. Expensive…hehehe… but honestly worth how massive your sandwich is! They have just bagels, bagel breakfast sandwiches, and some more lunch focused sandwiches. My mouth is watering thinking about it. You NEED to go here. This is more of a take it to go place. Or sit outside on a bench and eat. You order and then pick up your food at the counter and the inside is tiny!
DIRECTIONS: https://goo.gl/maps/mH7TfyYXCcjJ3aCQ7
WEBSITE: https://butte-bagels.com/
OTHER REC
PARADISE CAFE - Michael has been here and said it was incredible! The wait was stupid long when we arrived and we didn’t have time, but he loved it when he went in the past! It’s definitely more of a sit down place and an actual restaurant.
HIKING
Again, we didn’t have much time to do anything super long, but here’s what we did do if you’re looking for something shorter / easier.
EAST RIVER TRAIL
ABOUT: A 4.3 mile roundtrip hike. It’s fairly flat and straight forward! You’ll hike above the river and have expansive views of the mountains, go through aspen groves, and encounter some stream crossings. It was a decent hike, but you don’t get too much of a change of scenery the whole way.
ALL TRAILS LINK: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/colorado/east-river-trail
UPPER AND LOWER LOOP TRAIL
ABOUT: Okay first of all, there are so many “lower” and “upper” and “upper upper” (i’m not joking) trails around CB, so if you want to do this hike, please use the all trails link below to go to the correct one lol. This is where I did my elopement! We didn’t hike the entire thing - only from the trailhead, following the lower loop trail, to Mt. Crested Butte Viewpoint. The hike itself was nothing crazy and super easy, but the viewpoint was so peaceful and beautiful. I would love to just go set up a picnic on the rock bed at the river. It was only 1 mile to the viewpoint and then 1 mile back, but if you wanted to do the whole thing, its about 4.5 miles roundtrip.
ALL TRAILS LINK: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/colorado/crested-butte-upper-and-lower-loop
MORE HIKES:
Here’s a link to a list of trails that I haven’t done, but I have saved for future visits! If you do any of these before me, please report back!
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/list/crested-butte-7c93ebe
SHOPPING & SNACKING
There are so many cute little shops around CB! I won’t list them - the town is small enough to just walk the whole thing and explore for yourself! Elk Ave is their main strip.
If you’re looking to re caffeinate, there are plenty of cute coffee shops along the main street, but I stopped at the first one I saw hahaha which was T-Bar. I got a latte and it was really good! They have a HUGE menu of fun drinks and smoothies, even if you don’t want coffee.
SCENIC DRIVE
Again, didn’t have much time, but would have loved to drive more of Kebler Pass! There are sooooo many hikes up there and it’d be a super pretty drive if you were lazy but wanted to see cool shit.
DINNER
BONEZ
ABOUT: AN INCREDIBLE Mexican Restaurant! DARE I SAY….the best chips and salsa I’ve had in CO???????? They come with three salsas and Michael and I literally could not pick a favorite. They also refill your chips for free which isn’t the norm here I’m learning lolol. The portions were HUGE , like, could have fed us for 2 full dinners each. We were super bummed that we couldn’t save our leftovers. We each got enchiladas and they were so good. I also had a frozen margarita which didn’t miss either. I fucking loved this place and will definitely be back next time!
GOOGLE MAPS LINK: https://goo.gl/maps/PJBDTpvK5g6zDyF77
WEBSITE: https://www.bonez.co/
OTHER REC
My bookkeeper told me to go to Breadery if we had time, which we didn’t, but she said it was one of the top 5 meals she’s ever had! It has bread in the name, sooo…… How could it not be delightful??? Again, if you go, lemme know how it was! I can’t wait to go here next time.
There you have it! A very full but fun guide to a day or weekend trip to Crested Butte! It was one of my favorite towns I’ve been to in CO and I really can’t wait to go back and explore more. It’s the wildflower capital in the U.S. so go in July if you can to see peak flowers! OR, in the fall to experience the changing colors. OR to ski in the winter lol. Really any time is what I’m saying I guess. HAVE FUN!