Contact & FAQ

John Norton brings years of ski industry experience to the Gunnison-Crested Butte team. He’s a talented skier and mountain biker, an avid kayaker and rafter, and an excellent cook. He’s the hub of the TA team and understands the Gunnison Valley brand better than pretty much anyone.

Contact John:

• for information on the organization’s goals and strategy; or
• to get involved as a board member.

Phone: 970.379.5498, Email: [email protected]

Laurel wears a lot of hats for the TA. She manages the team that implements all of our marketing campaigns, represents the staff on the Finance Committee, coordinates our content schedules for gunnisoncrestedbutte.com and sister-site mtbhome.com, and serves as an occasional mountain bike model. When she’s not writing for the websites or managing another project, you’ll find her skiing Crested Butte’s extremes, Nordic skiing with her dog Owen, baking elaborate cakes, brewing beer, trying to get better at mountain biking, or hiking in Cement Creek.

Contact Laurel:

• if you have a project you’d like to partner with the TA on;
• if you would like to be a partner;
• if you’re curious about the TA’s marketing efforts; or
• if you would like to be a guest blogger.

*If you would like to sell us advertising space, don’t contact Laurel. Email our media buyer, Jill Coyle, instead!

Phone: 970.901.8165 Email: [email protected]

Andrew is the Gunnison-Crested Butte Public Relations Manager, and also serves as the lodging liaison. Andrew moved to the Gunnison Valley in 2010 with the intention of taking a gap year before starting Graduate school. Now, 7 years later, he has decided to raise his family here. Andrew is the only member of the TA that you will see on a snowboard. In his free time, Andrew loves anything that will get him outside. Some of his favorites include mountain biking, nordic skiing, and backpacking. He is excited to show journalists the place he has fallen in love with and will forever call home.

Contact Andrew:

• if you’re a journalist working on a story or planning a media visit;
• if you’re a local lodging partner excited to join Gunnison-Crested Butte Reservations.

Phone: 720.220.5700 Email: [email protected]

Jeff supports the Tourism Association’s data-driven marketing strategies for promoting airline service to and from the Gunnison Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC). Jeff analyzes booking trends, pricing, and survey data and coordinates marketing plans with other staff members and airline revenue managers. When not crunching numbers you could find Jeff enjoying single track at sunset, tuning his son’s junior race skis, coaching youth hockey, dropping into fresh powder, or with his wife in their wooden hot tub.

Contact Jeff:

• if you have questions pertaining to GUC flights;
• if you want to sign up for the Gunnison Airfare Club and receive fare sale notices; or
• If you need help promoting your business to fly-in guests;

Phone: 970.275.1906 Email: [email protected]

Daniel is the youngest member of the Gunnison-Crested Butte team. He’s a skier, mountain biker, kayaker, and former AT through hiker. Daniel, like Laurel, is a jack of all trades. He handles all billing, manages the social media channels, and contributes content to gunnisoncrestedbutte.com and mtbhome.com.

Contact Daniel:

• if you have a question about billing (all invoices should be sent to [email protected]);
• if you would like to know more about TA social media marketing;
• if you can’t remember how to access your partner account on this website; or
• if you have an event to add to the calendar.

Phone: 703.853.3287 Email: [email protected]

Order the official Vacation Guide for Gunnison and Crested Butte by filling out this form.

Gunnison and Crested Butte are located within Gunnison County which is located in the middle of Colorado. Gunnison is conveniently located along US-50 on the other side of Monarch Pass from Salida as you come from Denver or Colorado Springs. Crested Butte is located 28 miles north of Gunnison via CO-135 in the heart of the Elk Mountain Range. The Gunnison Valley is a little harder to get to than many of our fellow mountain towns in Colorado. We find that the extra effort is worth it.

Driving
Gunnison is a quick 4-hour drive from Denver or just 3 hours from Colorado Springs. Crested Butte is only an additional 30 miles beyond Gunnison. Drive Highway 50, a scenic road that runs across our great state, or enjoy a scenic mountain drive in the summer: Kebler Pass (Gunnison County Road 12) and Cottonwood Pass (Chaffee County Road 306 to Gunnison County Road 209). Cottonwood Pass is paved on the Buena Vista side but dirt on the Taylor Park side. This pass offers spectacular views of the Taylor Reservoir and its surrounding mountains.
Flying
Flying into Gunnison-Crested Butte (GUC) couldn’t be easier. Enjoy non-stop flights during the summer from Houston and Denver, both great for connecting from other parts of the country. In winter we have non-stop flights from Los Angeles, Dallas, and Chicago in addition to our Houston and Denver service.

Gunnison-Crested Butte is known as one of the most dog-friendly spots in Colorado. If you need pet friendly accommodations you can call the Visitor Center in Gunnison at 970-641-1501 or Crested Butte at 970-349-6438 and their staff can help you find the right property.

The answers to these questions are “not really” and “yes, a  quite good one.”

You don’t really need a rental car to explore Gunnison-Crested Butte, although it’s not a bad idea if you want to travel to some of the trailheads and recreation areas outside of town. It’s also important to know that if you arrive via plane and don’t rent a car, you’ll need to arrange either a hotel shuttle (most lodging in Gunnison) or an airport transfer (most lodging in Crested Butte).

The Gunnison Valley is home to what may be the best free public transportation system in the world. The Gunnison Valley RTA has a bus that runs between Crested Butte and Gunnison 13+ times a day during the winter and summer seasons and 7+ times per day during the off-seasons (spring and fall). The bus loops through the city of Gunnison before heading up Highway 135 to stop in Crested Butte South, Crested Butte, and Mt. Crested Butte. Mountain Express runs shuttles between Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte 4 times per hour winter and summer and every 40 minutes in the off-seasons. Mountain Express also runs other bus loops in Mt. Crested Butte during the winter and summer, looping around the condos on the mountain and out to Gothic in the summer months.

We’re justifiably proud of our heritage as one of the birthplaces of mountain biking in the Gunnison Valley. That pride led us to create an web-based mobile map app. Just point your phone browser to cbgtrails.com. Then add CBGTrails to your homescreen and download maps for the area you’re planning to explore. Once you have downloaded a map, you can even leave service. As long as your phone is connected to GPS, you’ll be able to follow your progress.

If you’re looking for more information on the trails, head to mtbhome.com. There, you’ll find an interactive trail guide, tips on the best apres spots, and ride reports from riding local trails. Want even more intel? Head to a local mountain biking shop and talk to the staff. All of our shops have friendly locals on staff who are excited to help you plan a weekend (or week, or month) of fun riding.

In summer, we enjoy 75 degrees and sunny most days in Crested Butte. In July and August, expect a brief afternoon thunderstorm, so get out and play early in the day and then use the monsoon as an excuse to shop, eat, nap, or drink. Nights are pleasantly cool and dry so no air conditioning is needed. Gunnison is a bit warmer and gets less moisture. Expect the mid-80s in Gunnison.

In Fall, summer weather continues with nights dipping into the 20s. Typically, the monsoon finishes up right around Labor Day and September often brings some of the best days of the year. By October, it often starts to snow in Crested Butte, but nice days can be found between snowfalls. Gunnison typically avoids the snows in October.

Winter in Gunnison-Crested Butte is marked, once again, by sunny days. We like to say it’s either snowing or sunny; there’s not much in between so you probably won’t see many gray days. It can be quite cold, but our high altitude and the sun mean that it doesn’t feel as cold. March is sunny, warm, and spectacular most days.

For daily weather reports and forecasts the best source is CBTV 10, the local television station.

The Gunnison-Crested Butte area is located in over 2 million acres of public land, so developed and primitive campsites abound. Please consult our camping page for details on when and where you can camp.

We do our best to keep our road conditions page up to date. However, the best source of information related to road conditions and openings/closings is cotrip.org.

The short answer is that Gunnison-Crested Butte just feels right.

Our towns, and the people who live in them, are stoked to share our little mountain paradise with you. Whether you’re visiting for the best extreme ski terrain in the lower 48, looking to explore the best mountain biking trail system on the planet (literally), or you’re just looking to hang out and sit on a bench on Elk to watch the world go by, we’ve got you covered.  We’re also home to Colorado’s largest lake and Aspen grove and the state’s oldest rodeo. We’re the Official Wildflower Capital of Colorado. We have more great restaurants per capita than any other valley in the west, too.*

*not fact-checked, but probably true.

We don’t offer paid advertisement opportunities on our website, in our vacation guide, or via our social channels at this time. Instead, we work with local businesses to promote the whole valley as a year round destination.

Any local tourism businesses and non-profits are considered TA members and invited to sign up for an account here on the official visitor information site for Crested Butte and the Gunnison Valley. If you think you and your business qualify, email GCBTA Project Manager Laurel Runcie to tell her about your business and initiate the process of signing up for an account.

Use the login link in the footer of the website and input your username/email address and password.

If you’ve logged in before and can’t remember your password, use the login link in the footer of the site. Then, use the forgot password link and follow instructions to reset your password.

If you don’t know the email address/username associated with your account, email Marketing Coordinator Daniel Kreykes for assistance.

Email Daniel Kreykes your event details. Bonus points if you send him some photos he can use to enhance the event’s listing on the site.

Email Daniel Kreykes your deal information. Please include a photo (for which you have the rights) for the deal listing, social media postings, and emarketing.

Reach out to Andrew Sandstrom. Andrew is our lodging liaison and can connect you with the right people to get you signed up for Gunnison-Crested Butte Reservations. Note that this isn’t limited to lodging partners. We’re happy to partner with any local businesses looking to offer advance reservations or ticket purchases for guests.

We recognize the importance of special events to help bring visitors into the valley and love partnering with event organizers to help make events successful. In the past, examples of this have included marketing partnerships with event organizers and offering cash prize purses for existing events to help increase participation numbers and the caliber of participants. We are particularly interested in partnering with events that align with our marketing strategy and goals.

If you are holding an event in the Gunnison Valley and would like to talk to the TA about partnership opportunities, reach out to our Project Manager Laurel Runcie.

Our Board of Directors is a 7-member board of community members with vast and diverse marketing experience. One board seat each are designated as permanent seats for the Crested Butte Mountain Resort marketing manager and the Western State Colorado University marketing manager. Then five additional members are appointed by the Local Marketing District following applications and interviews during the beginning of the calendar year. These five seats are on a staggered schedule so no more than two seats are open each year. The five appointed board members each serve three year terms. Our by-laws require that of the five appointed members, at least one be from south of Jack’s Cabin and at least one be from north of Jack’s Cabin.

First, make sure you meet the qualifications outlined in our by-laws:

1. Resident or property owner of Gunnison County, and
2. Have significant marketing experience that can be applied to tourism marketing, or
3. Have current or past business experience providing services to visitors in Gunnison County as a senior decision maker, and
4. View the County as one interdependent and interconnected economic system.

If you meet those qualifications and you are interested in applying to be on the TA Board, applications are typically due in January of each year. The selection committee consisting of the three LMD board members and the two permanent members of the TA Board will conduct interviews and select new board members for the TA.

If you are interested in applying for the TA board and have questions about the process, please reach out to TA Executive Director, John Norton.

After approval, we post our board meeting minutes online. We post them on the meetings and documents page.

Board meetings are open to the public and held the second Thursday of each month. Check out our meetings and documents page for more information

Contact Andrew Sandstrom, Gunnison-Crested Butte Public Relations Manager, for photo or video assets for a story.

Andrew Sandstrom, our PR Manager, is the one to reach out to for information on how to plan the perfect visit for you to nail your next story. Shoot him an email or call him at (720) 220-5700 and he’ll help build you an itinerary for the ages.

Hill Aevium is our media buying agency. Reach out to our Account Executive, Jill Coyle, to get the ball rolling and let her know about the opportunities you have for us to work together.