Crested Butte: Natural beauty
Want to put attendees in touch with nature?
Schedule a Morrow Point Boat Tour through the upper Black Canyon region of the Curecanti National Recreation Area. Each pontoon boat accommodates up to 42 passengers. Crested Butte Mountain Guides has a special program for women climbers; other packages include sea kayaking the Blue Mesa Lake (Colorado’s largest body of water), mountain biking, backcountry skiing and overnight ski hut trips. Guided horseback trail rides of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park may be arranged through the Elk Ridge Ranch in Montrose, which also offers hunting trips. At the Mt. Crested Butte base area, Adventure Park has year-round ice skating, a bungee trampoline and a climbing wall.
Want eco-friendly activities and amenities?
The Elevation Spa is part of the Green Spa Network, which requires the use of organic products and eco-friendly business practices. Nine massage, two facial and two hydrotherapy rooms are available. The six-room Ruby of Crested Butte is a bed-and-breakfast inn that can accommodate group functions of up to 30 people. It offers planners a carbon-offset program as well as sustainable meeting products, and food and beverage options.
Want group dining?
Downtown, the Slogar Bar & Restaurant serves comfort food, like iron-skillet fried chicken, fried pickles and sweet chutney, from inside a beautiful historic building. Also downtown is the Timberline Restaurant, which offers a menu of new American cuisine. Upstairs, the main dining room seats 68; the downstairs bistro/bar area seats 56. The restaurant also has two patios: a sidewalk patio for 15 and a creekside deck for 45. Maxwells is a good choice for large groups. Hand-cut steaks and wild game are served in its rustic dining room and front patio dining area. Arrangements Catering & Events not only caters off-site functions, it also can arrange group cooking classes.
Want to meet on-mountain?
In addition to its conference and ballroom space, the Crested Butte Mountain Resort has some interesting restaurants groups can reserve for private meetings, banquets, receptions and weddings. With an elevation of more than 10,000 feet above sea level, the Rustica Restaurant at the Paradise Warming House has indoor space for 200 people and deck space for 300 people; during the winter, planners can arrange sleighs to take guests there. Send attendees up the Red Lady chair lift to the Ice Bar Restaurant for an intimate reception around a real ice bar (capacity: 50). In addition to offering barbecue and an awesome view of the mountain, the Butte 66 BBQ Roadhouse Restaurant has a 200-person deck and a small stage indoors for live music or presentations (capacity: 100).
Want to surround your group with culture?
Reserve a theater for a special presentation at the Majestic Theatre, which serves wine and gourmet chocolate alongside art films. The Crested Butte Center for the Arts has a covered outdoor stage and indoor gallery space as well as a summer series of theater and music. The Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame is housed in an 1883 hardware store and dedicated to telling the stories of the people who made this town what it is. The Pioneer Museum in nearby Gunnison is a complex of 18 buildings displaying artifacts from the county’s earliest settlers as well as antique trains. During the summer, Jeep tours are available. The Gunnison Arts Center has three gallery spaces, meeting rooms and a 72-seat theater that may be rented by private groups; art instruction and lectures also are available. Throughout the summer, numerous festivals and cultural events can be a colorful backdrop for events.
