Outside Magazine, August 2008 Best Towns 2008 Crested Butte, CO Mountain West By Katie Arnold
Intro | Washington, D.C. | Chattanooga, TN | New Orleans, LA | Ogden, UT | Portsmouth, NH | Tacoma, WA | Ithaca, NY | Louisville, KY | Eureka, CA | Crested Butte, CO | Columbia, MO | 
The Rest of the Best
Frisbee Throwing in a Local Park, Crested Butte, Colorado
Local park in Crested Butte, Colorado (courtesy, Colorado Tourism Office)
THE REVIVAL: Crested Butte made its name as a coal town in the 1880s, then relaunched 80 years later as a ski bum's nirvana. But thanks to inconsistent snowfall and a remote, road's-end location at the foot of the West Elk Mountains, hard times came calling in the late '80s. THE STATS Pop. 1,600 Median age: 31 Med. household income: $41,250 Med. home value: $301,100 Avg. commute: 10 mins. Largest employer: Crested Butte Mountain Resort Read more on visiting Crested Butte. The energy returned when the town's eponymous ski resort changed hands in 2004. News of its imminent modernization triggered a real estate feeding frenzy, with dilapidated Victorians and miners' shacks alike starting bidding wars. Now, with long-awaited upgrades under way at the ski area—including a totally revamped base area, swank lodges, and the possible, controversial expansion to adjacent Snodgrass Mountain—"Colorado's last great ski town" is all abuzz. Once the holdout of elite athletes, former hippies, and powder dropouts, down-to-earth CB is attracting a new crop of young families and telecommuters looking for a laid-back and affordable alternative to glitzier counterparts like Telluride and Aspen. There's a boutique bookbinder on Second Street, a new farmers' market every Sunday in summer and fall, and a steady stream of locals on cruiser bikes. THE LIFE: The '80s saw a slow and steady proliferation of singletrack outside town, making the Butte a true trail-riding mecca. Even on a sleety night, you'll see locals taking to the Lower Loop with snowsuited toddlers strapped in back, and half the town volunteers to maintain their beloved trails, like the legendary 401. Fly-fishing, hiking, and skiing are literally just out the back door.
THE WORD ON THE STREET: CRESTED BUTTE "It's a beautiful place, the skiing is sick, and the bike trails are sublime. A quirky community of wonderful people." —J.C. LEACOCK, SUBSCRIBER
How do you live the West? Interesting
question. That depends on one’s
perspective, and one’s relationship
with the frontier, barbed-wire fences,
and American folklore. For some,
living the West entails much more
than just dressing the part—and the
sure wannabes sure are easy to pick out.
It’s all about experiencing life, simplified—riding a horse,
sleeping under the stars, and getting away from civilization.
Cheyenne, Wyo. 
Tucson, Ariz.
Toppenish, Wash. 
Gunnison-Crested
Butte, Colo. 
Ruidoso, N.M.
Stephenville, Texas
Calgary, Alberta
Lander, Wyo.
Prescott, Ariz.
Bartlesville, Okla.
