Hiking, Biking and Walking Trails

ruth berkshire

The Crested Butte Land Trust strives to provide access to public lands and open spaces through trails by either acquiring property or by working with land owners to establish conservation easements. Trails are open to the public for walking, hiking, and biking, and some of the trails are open for winter Nordic skiing. Feel free to click on each trail’s link to find out more information about the trail including the location of the trail head, the difficulty rating, sights to see along the trail, and plant and animal species likely to be found. We hope you enjoy your visit to Crested Butte and the time you spend on Land Trust properties.

Help Protect Your Trails

•1. Please stay on the trail. Walking off-trail stresses vegetation and compacts soil, resulting in an increase in erosion and a degradation of the natural environment. Please stay off muddy, wet trails and give them a chance to dry. If you happen to come upon a muddy, wet, or snowy section of the trail, it is better to step through it than to create a wider or second parallel trail.

•2. Minimize off-trail impact. When you meet other hikers on a narrow trail, step aside and wait until they pass, rather than continuing to walk alongside the trail.

•3. Be sure to stay on the switchbacks. A switchback is a trail up a steep hill or mountain that is like a zig-zag pattern instead of a straight trail. The zig-zag pattern protects the hill and the trail from excessive erosion. Trails that go straight up and down steep hills don’t stay nice trails for long. Erosion turns them into gullies because water moves faster down steep straight-aways and it hollows out the trail and washes all the soil and vegetation down-hill. Switchbacks help prevent erosion because they help keep the trail at a consistent gradient. “Short-cutting” a switchback is bad trail etiquette because it stresses vegetation, loosens soil, and in time will create wide, deep ruts.

Have a wonderful time using the trails, while respecting any closed for re-vegetation signs and staying on the trail. See you out there!