Crested Butte, CO, USA
Deep in the rugged backcountry of the south-central Colorado Rockies is the former coal-mining town of Crested Butte, population 1,600. Stroll down Elk Avenue, the main street through the downtown National Historic District, and step into the Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum for a peak into life during the mining era. Take the free shuttle bus three miles to Mount Crested Butte and hit the mountain’s 121 trails. Face gravity on Rambo, the steepest run in North America, or brave the double-black-diamond Extreme Limits—the site of the U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Championships every February. If your skills are closer to average, don’t despair: more than half of Crested Butte's trails are rated intermediate. Had enough of the slopes? Go snowshoeing in the nearby Gunnison National Forest, or hit the sledding hill at the community-owned Crested Butte Nordic Center. Had enough of the outdoors altogether? Kick back with a drink at Kochevar's, one of the oldest bars in Crested Butte, where Butch Cassidy once had to cut an evening short and make such a hasty exit out the back door he forgot his gun—and his drink, presumably.
