Crested Butte, Colorado

Crested Butte keeps the feel of a mining town that ended up with a ski mountain, rather than a ski mountain that grew a town. Its National Historic District runs along Elk Avenue, a main street of colorful old storefronts with good bars and restaurants, while the ski area sits just up the road at Mount Crested Butte, linked to town by a free bus. Summer is the stronger season for many visitors, with mountain bike trails close to town and the wildflower meadows that earned it the title of Colorado's Wildflower Capital. Getting there takes commitment, since Crested Butte sits 27 miles up the highway from Gunnison, which is also what keeps it from feeling overrun.