Big Mine Park
Park
8 acres0.6 mi of trail
Ditch Trail West
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Crested Butte Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Depot · Photo: Int77345 · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Crested Butte
38% of Crested Butte’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Crested Butte, 2.9 per square mile of land. 38% of Crested Butte’s land is conserved, about 204 acres.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
38%
204 acres · of 0.9 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
2.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
31 ac
25 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.8 mi
2.8 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Crested Butte?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Crested Butte have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Crested Butte is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Crested Butte’s overall grade.
Conserved land38% of the land · typical CO town 7% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · CO 1.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land25 acres of park per 1,000 residents (31 acres) · CO 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · CO 97% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Crested Butte’s 38% is ahead of 97% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 83% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Big Mine Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
204 conserved acres
38% of Crested Butte’s land. Who manages Crested Butte’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city350 ac
Private owners41 ac
Conservation Easement · 189 acLocal Conservation Area · 148 acPrivate Conservation · 41 acLocal Park · 13 acUnknown Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town Ranch Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 148 | Unknown |
| Private Private Land (w/ Protection) Private Conservation | Private owners | 41 | Closed |
| Town Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Big Mine Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Crested Butte
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Crested Butte
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Crested Butte
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Crested Butte
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Crested Butte
CBCS Community Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.0 miUnpaved · 1.1 mi
Beginner Track0.3 mi
Ditch Trail West0.3 mi
Biking & sports
2.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
3Tennis
3Soccer
2Basketball
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Crested Butte: June to August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 33 | 41 | 48 | 58 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 66 | 54 | 40 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.4 |
June is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 75 °F). 2.7 inches fall in January, the wettest month. The climate in Crested Butte →
Questions about parks and trails in Crested Butte
Where can I hike in Crested Butte?
The longest trail networks: Big Mine Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Crested Butte is conserved land?
38% of its land, against a typical 7% for a Colorado town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Crested Butte’s trails?
Big Mine Park and Town Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Crested Butte?
2.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Crested Butte?
54,250 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Crested Butte or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 31 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Crested Butte have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Crested Butte neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →