Crested Butte Mountain Bike Park trails

The Crested Butte Mountain Bike Park trails offer speed, adventure, and best of all, a chairlift to haul you and your bike up the mountain. Crested Butte Mountain Resort operates the park, which features 27 trails and more than 30 miles of singletrack served by the Red Lady Express lift. Peruse this guide to the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Park for maps, ticket info, rules and more. Plus, we’ve included descriptions of nearly every trail in the park so you can hand-pick your favorites.

Crested Butte Mountain Bike Park guide

Tickets

Purchase bike park tickets, scenic chairlift rides and season passes on Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s summer tickets page.

Hours

Check Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s bike park page for dates and hours of operation. The bike park is open seven days a week from early June through Labor Day, and only on weekends in September.

Map

The Crested Butte Mountain Resort summer trail map lays out the trails, lifts and base area amenities so you always know where you’re going.

Refer to Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s lift and terrain status page to check trail statuses and stay on top of weather-related lift closures.

Interactive trail map

Zoom and drag on the map below for a bird’s-eye view of the Crested Butte Bike Park trails. Click on a trail for detailed stats. Need more information? Scroll down this page for trail descriptions.

Crested Butte on Trailforks.com

PinkBike First Impressions: Crested Butte Bike Park trails

Follow pro mountain biker Geoff Gulevich and Western Colorado University athlete Max Cramer down some of the best trails at the Crested Butte Bike Park. For more awesome Crested Butte mountain biking videos, subscribe to Gunnison Crested Butte’s YouTube channel.

Distinguishing features of Crested Butte Bike Park trails

Rocks!

They’re not called the Rocky Mountains for nothing! Navigating rocks is a way of life on all Crested Butte trails, but especially those in the bike park. The rocks and boulders on the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Park trails provide an added level of technicality that many riders crave.

Steep trails

Those who have skied the resort during winter are already aware: Crested Butte is steep. But don’t fear—there are several mellow green trails to complement the steep, high-angle ones.

Aspen trees

The Crested Butte Bike Park trails range in elevation from approximately 9,400 to 10,500 feet above sea level—prime habitat for quaking aspens. Aspens are known for their distinctive white bark. Aspen leaves turn gold in September and October. It’s hard to beat the experience of careening through a yellow tunnel of aspen trees in fall!

Wildflowers

Crested Butte is Colorado’s Wildflower Capital, and the bike park trails are no exception. You’ll spot columbine, lupine, larkspur, fireweed, fleabane, mule’s ears and many other blooms from June to August. The best trails for spotting wildflowers include Meander, Crusader, Up and Away, and Columbine.

Best Crested Butte Mountain Bike Park trails

Teaser

Teaser is one of Crested Butte’s most popular intermediate trails. This is an excellent trail to begin working on tabletop jumps. If you like Teaser, check out Sharpshooter, too.

Westside and Happy Hour

Westside and Happy Hour traverse the west side of the resort. These multi-use trails connect to public trails including Upper Loop, Tony’s and the rec path. A lap town Westside and Happy Hour is an excellent way to cap off a day at the Crested Butte Bike Park.

Psycho Rocks

As Geoff Gulevich says in the video above, there are several line choices on Psycho Rocks—“the sketchy way, or the sketchy way.” Experts will enjoy picking their way down this trail, which is essentially one giant rock garden. Loved Psycho Rocks? Check out Captain Jack, the only other double-black trail in the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Park.

Avery

Steep and rocky, Avery (rated black) delivers more adrenaline than most riders can shake a stick at. Several large tabletop jumps at the bottom of the trail give you an opportunity to show off your skills to onlookers in the base area.

Boulder Mason

Boulder Mason is a step up in difficulty from Avery. It would be a good warm-up for riders aspiring to explore Psycho Rocks or Captain Jack.

Woods

Woods, rated black, contains two optional wall rides. It’s a local favorite.

Luge

Luge is just how it sounds—fast and flowy, with many berms. If you liked Luge, check out Frequency, another blue trail.

Hotdogger

First time in the bike park? Learn the ropes on Hotdogger. There are no jumps or technical features on this trail. Just cruise!

Crusader

Crusader snakes down the back side of the resort, offering gorgeous views of the surrounding West Elk Mountains—if you dare to look up from the trail!

Meander

Meander is a multi-use trail on the north edge of Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Ride through epic wildflower fields and enjoy a breathtaking vista of the East River valley below. Meander connects to Snodgrass trail, a Crested Butte classic. Check out our guide to Crested Butte’s backcountry bike trails for more information on Snodgrass.

Up and Away

Not keen on buying a bike haul ticket? Want some extra exercise? Or maybe you want to go for a ride after lifts have closed for the day. Whatever the reason, Up and Away is the uphill route for mountain bikers. No downhill bike traffic is allowed on this trail. You’ll share the trail with hikers, who can travel either direction. Up and Away begins at the base area and ascends to the top of Red Lady lift.

Hiking the peak of Crested Butte

Hiking the 12,162’ summit of Crested Butte delivers stunning area views and very little oxygen! This scenic hike is well worth the effort. A chairlift ride up the Silver Queen Express lift gives a helpful head start. From the top of the Silver Queen, the trail spans two miles and gains 1,200 feet in elevation. It tops out on a scree field with panoramic views of town and the surrounding landscape. Learn about the Crested Butte peak hike and other hiking routes on Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s hiking page.

About Mt. Crested Butte

Crested Butte Mountain Resort is located in the tiny town of Mt. Crested Butte. This little town is perched on the hill about four miles north of Crested Butte.

Crested Butte Mountain Bike Park rules

1. No motorized vehicles.
2. All bikes must have functioning hand brakes.
3. Helmets are required to use the bike haul.
4. No kid carriers or bike trailers.
5. Class 1 e-bikes are permitted on Crested Butte Bike Park trails. E-bikes are not permitted on many adjacent trails, including Upper Loop and Snodgrass. For guidance on where to ride your e-bike in Crested Butte, check out our e-biking page.

About the Mountain Biker’s Responsibility Code

The National Ski Areas Association developed the Mountain Biker’s Responsibility Code as a summer counterpart to the winter Responsibility Code used by skiers and snowboarders. The code establishes ground rules in a lift-served mountain bike park.

Mountain Biker’s Responsibility Code

Mountain biking involves risk of serious injury or death. Your knowledge, decisions and actions contribute to your safety and that of others.

ALWAYS:

1. Stay in control. You’re responsible for avoiding objects and people.
2. Know your limits. Ride within your ability. Start small and work your way up.
3. Protect yourself. Use an appropriate bike, helmet and protective equipment.
4. Inspect and maintain your equipment. Know your components and their operation prior to riding.
5. Be lift smart. Know how to load, ride and unload lifts safely. Ask if you need help.
6. Inspect the trails and features. Conditions change constantly; plan and adjust your riding accordingly.
7. Obey signs and warnings. Stay on marked trails only. Keep off closed trails and features. Ride in the direction indicated.
8. Be visible. Do no stop where you obstruct a trail, feature, landing or are not visible.
9. Look and yield to others. Look both ways and yield when entering or crossing a road or trail. When overtaking, use caution and yield to those ahead.
10. Cooperate. If involved in or witness to an incident, identify yourself to staff.

Other Gunnison Valley trail zones

The 30 miles of Crested Butte Mountain Bike Park trails just scratch the surface of the Gunnison Valley’s vast trail network. Explore an additional 750 miles of trail in the zones listed below.

• Crested Butte town trails
• Crested Butte backcountry trails
• Brush Creek
• Cement Creek
• Taylor Canyon
• Hartman Rocks
• Signal Peak
• Gunnison National Forest

Not sure where to begin? Visit the main mountain biking page for a general overview of mountain biking in Colorado’s Gunnison Valley.