Crested Butte Vacation Travel Blog

This year Crested Butte has been one of the fortunate ones in Colorado. Besides the East coast, we seem to be getting all the snow this year. Where we have not had many multi-feet dumps, we have had series of 4 to 8 inch storms roll in one after another giving us one of the best snow bases in Colorado. The snow has bonded well creating a stable hillside for our extremes and backcountry skiing. This also means that we have had plenty of snow to groom on our main resort. Above is a shot of a storm that I got as I was driving into town. At the time, it looks like a giant wave about to crash on Mount Crested Butte.

Trying to decide on a fun time to visit Crested Butte? How about Mardi Gras? Crested Buttians are always looking for a reason to dress up and celebrate, and this annual event gives them just that opportunity. Every year there is a parade in town down Elk Avenue giving locals the chance to put purple and green costumes not only on themselves but on their vehicles as well. In truth, not all costumes are even Mardi Gras related (like the Space invasion above). Everyone comes out to watch. The Purple Mountain B&B has been known to participate into some of these parades ourselves.
A few insider recommendation: 1) Enjoy a beer at the Brick Pizza Oven while you wait for the start of the parade. They have 25 micro brews on tap and a large brick patio where you can keep an eye on Elk Avenue (hey, we are Crested Butte – nothing starts on time). 2) Make reservations for dinner at a time in which the parade should be over. Everyone is in town and as soon as the parade is over they are filling up every restaurant.