Elevation of 8,885

Town Of Crested Butte

The Town of Crested Butte, fondly referred to as the Gateway to the Elk Mountains, sits at an elevation of 8,885 feet in a valley high atop the Rocky Mountains. Crested Butte was originally home to the Ute Indians, prior to the miners who migrated to the area as early as 1860.  Miners were attracted to the area because of the extensive coal deposits, establishing Crested Butte as a major supply center prior to becoming a long-term coal producer.  

On November 21, 1881, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad began operations between Gunnison and Crested Butte. The arrival of the railroad ended Crested Butte’s isolation and facilitated the expansion of the coal industry and the town.

The first large mine in Crested Butte was called the Jokerville Mine, established in the 1880s. On January 24, 1884, an explosion occurred, and the mine never reopened. Later that same year, the Big Mine was opened, becoming the third largest coal mine in Colorado and producing the highest quality coal in the state. 

Big Mine operated for 58 years, eventually closing in 1952 bringing the end of the coal era in Crested Butte. In 1955, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad removed their tracks and Crested Butte’s economy and population declined.

In 1960, Dick Elfin and Fred Rick from Kansas, purchased a ranch northeast of the town of Crested Butte. By the winter of 1962 – 1963, they opened a ski area on Crested Butte Mountain with Colorado’s first gondola, revitalizing the area and growing it to its present-day resort community.