Wildflower Time

The Crested Butte Wildflower Festival from July 11-20 offers more than 150 events led by local and national leaders in painting, pollination, photography, culinary arts and more. Its signature guided hikes/walks take participants into Crested Butte’s wildflower-filled trails to identify blooms and explore the area’s geology and history. Other topics include art, birding & butterflies, botany, culinary & medicinal interests and photography. The Wildflower Festival was founded in 1986, to celebrate the beauty of the montane and alpine wildflower environments of the Gunnison Valley, and in 1990 the state of Colorado declared Crested Butte the “Wildflower Capital of Colorado.” Check out a guided tour or a class, or try one of their self-guided wildflower hikes and enjoy the time and pace of your choosing. 

Enjoy the bounty! 

—Katherine Nettles 

The following pages feature Festival director/photography professor David Kish’s top viewing options

Hike – Brush Creek 

Mid-June through August. The gentle, well-packed and wide trail provides a little bit of everything for the wildflower seeker. Hikers can find a dozen different wildflowers in the first dozen minutes of the walk and the flowers keep changing as the summer progresses. You will always find wildflowers along Brush Creek during the season. Lupine is prime in June; Aspen Sunflowers and Larkspur are popping in July. This trail experiences the morning sun, so get an early start or wait until the late afternoon to avoid the heat of the day. You are almost guaranteed to see some of our favorite wildflower pollinators (bees and hummingbirds) at any point along this trail. Brush Creek is a featured trail on the “self-guided wildflower hikes” map provided by the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival.

Drive – Crested Butte to Gothic 

Mid-June through July. From the Four-way in Crested Butte, drive out Gothic Road to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) Visitor’s Center. Once you pass through Mt. Crested Butte, the open meadows and Aspen stands provide a spectacular display of wildflowers. There are plenty of pull-off opportunities for cars to park and capture stunning photos of the wildflowers, East River and West Elk Mountains all from the roadside. A standard car can travel on the improved dirt road.

Hike – Beaver Ponds

July. One of the best kept secrets for wildflower viewing can be found on this gentle hike through a mature Aspen forest. Combine this hike with a drive over Ohio Pass Road for a stunning day in the mountains. Hikers will experience a lush, fern-covered forest where wildflower aficionados can often discover harder-to-find blooms.

Drive – Crested Butte to Ohio Pass to Gunnison Loop 

June or July. This hour-long drive provides an excellent “loop” route with plenty of options for hikes and roadside photos. Leave Crested Butte on Whiterock Ave and head up Kebler Pass to the “Y.” Stay left on the paved road at the “Y” (and avoid the dirt road to the right which goes to Irwin) and then take the left turn toward Ohio Pass immediately after the “Y.” The parking area on your left is the trailhead for the Lily Lake Hike – a great hiking option. Or, continue to drive through a dense Aspen forest and stop at the Beaver Ponds for a short hike through the mature Aspens. As you descend Ohio Pass Road, the view opens up with wildflower fields, cattle ranches, and the famous rock formation, The Castles to the west. At the end of Ohio Pass Road, turn left and return to Crested Butte. While a standard car can drive this road, a higher-clearance vehicle is preferred.

Hike – Lupine Trail 

June. This trail got its name for a reason! There is no better place to see gorgeous, large Lupine blooms in Crested Butte. Drive out Slate River Road to the trailhead on the right-hand side of the road (where the pavement ends). The steady uphill start moves hikers through beautiful views at every turn. This is a popular mountain biking trail and there is plenty of room for everyone to enjoy the wildflowers and views. “The bench” makes a perfect lunch spot and turn-around destination.

is there such a thing as wildflower etiquette? 

There is! 

Please don’t pick, cut, or walk on wildflowers or other plants! And if you see someone doing this, please give them a friendly reminder to stay on the trail, and ask them to pass it along to others.

Stay on the trail. If another trail user needs to pass you, please gently step off the trail and wait for them to pass. Please don’t create multiple, parallel trails.

If a trail is wet, snowy, or muddy, do your best to keep to the main trail. This will prevent damage and parallel trails.

Event highlights this year:

C-Bees Program: A new program for children, the “C-Bees,” was modelled after the Junior Ranger Program (National Park Service). The festival has developed three activity workbooks for each age group: Seeds (ages 3-5), Sprouts (ages 6-9), and Blooms (age 10+). The workbooks will be available for free after Memorial Day at venues around town.

Paseo de Identificación de Flores Silvestres: A Wildflower ID Hike for Spanish speakers. This will be a wildflower identification walk in Spanish at a leisurely pace, with time for questions and photographing the beautiful blooms. You’ll go where the flowers are at their best. 

Pre-festival events: A few “pre-festival” events for people that can’t be in Crested Butte in July or, for those who might like a slower pace when the town is less crowded, include a Wildflower Jeep Tour (June 22) and Wildflower Phone Photography event (June 23).

You can find the festival headquarters at the Historic Train Depot in Crested Butte- 716 Elk Avenue. 

More information and events registration can be found at  CrestedButteWildflowerFestival.org