Apres Ski in Crested Butte

Crested Butte Village

There are two distinct parts to Crested Butte: the original town and, three miles (4.8 km) up the valley, the resort’s base area known as Mount Crested Butte, where most skiers stay.

The free shuttle between the two is your chance to ride a real American school bus, like in the movies. Americans hate them-they are reminded of school-and everyone else loves them, though once the novelty has worn off, having to commute for a night out is an undeniable drawback.

Crested Butte started as a mining town back in the late 1800s. The historic Victorian district is home to the resort’s best dining, shopping, and nightlife, where every quaint wooden building looks as though it’s off the set of a western. As with every other old Colorado mountain town, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are alleged to have hidden out here but in this case you can believe it.

Mount Crested Butte has the resort’s main hotels, condominiums, and some restaurants and bars. The cluster of buildings is right on the base area, making most accommodations virtually ski-in, ski-out.

Crested Butte Restaurants & Bars

Rafters is central to Mount Crested Butte’s après ski, which runs for a couple of hours before people head for town.

Live music and wet T-shirt contests are among the highlights, the later not being to everyone’s taste. The Avalanche and a handful of other bars are quieter options. Several bars in town feature live music, including Talk of the Town, the Eldo, the Idle Spur, The Black Whale, and Kochevar’s.

There are ten restaurants in Mount Crested Butte and many more in town; several double as bars and music venues. The minimum age for drinking alcohol is 21 but children may accompany their parents in bars and restaurants serving alcohol. The best restaurants are in town, where you can find something to suit most tastes. Le Bosquet, and Soupçon for French food, Italian at the Bacchanale, and excellent game at the Buffalo Grille. Just wander down Elk Avenue to pick from a dozen more-in Crested Butte you’ll probably run out of skiing before you run out of eating options.

Crested Butte Activities

Like many other resorts Crested Butte has a full range of activities for non-skiers, both on and off the snow.

Sledding, tubing, cross-country skiing with 37 miles (60 km) of groomed trails, snowshoeing and ice-skating take place at the Nordic Center in town.