The city of Gunnison lies on U.S. Highway 50, which connects to other major highways and cities. U.S. Highway 50 West connects to Montrose and Grand Junction, Colorado, and continues to Salt Lake City, Utah. U.S. Highway 50 East climbs over Monarch Pass towards Denver and Colorado Springs. Access to this major highway is a valuable amenity for business owners and contributes to a reasonable cost of living for a mountain town. State Highway 135 also connects Gunnison and Crested Butte.

Gunnison is home to Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC). This small airport, which is located in Gunnison, packs a big punch in terms of connectivity. Depending on the time of year, United Airlines, American Airlines and JSX offer service to GUC. Nonstop flights to Denver, Texas and Chicago are available. The infrastructure of an airport is a huge bonus for living in the Gunnison Valley. Learn more about GUC below. 

Access to public transport within the Gunnison Valley is easy and free. The RTA offers free bus service that travels between Gunnison, Almont, Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte. The Mountain Express Shuttle, sometimes referred to as the “town shuttle,” runs between Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte. These free bus services run every day, rain or shine. See schedules and route maps below. 

Gunnison and Crested Butte are small enough to be walkable and bike-friendly. Gunnison and Crested Butte have higher-than-average walk scores. A walk score indicates quality of life and measures how easy it is to commute or do errands on foot or with a bike. The size and infrastructure of Gunnison make it easy to accomplish errands and get around without a car. Gunnison’s walk score of 83 makes it a “very walkable” community. Gunnison’s bike score is 97. Crested Butte was rated the best bike town in the country in this article from Outside, which examined safety, bike infrastructure and culture in towns across the United States. Crested Butte’s walk score is 68, and its bike score is 90.