Starting your trip at Gunnison Crested Butte Regional Airport in Gunnison means everything around the region sits within an easy drive. Gunnison is a ranching and college town at 7,700 feet, set in a wide valley of hay meadows and sagebrush where the Gunnison River gathers its tributaries. The feel is unpolished and friendly, with cowboys, Western Colorado University students, and mountain bikers sharing the same coffee counters.

Standout experiences around Gunnison: - Fish, sail, or boat Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest lake in Colorado, 20 minutes west - Peer into the 2,000-foot walls of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park - Ride the singletrack at Hartman Rocks, right at the edge of town - Drive 30 minutes north to Crested Butte for its Victorian storefronts and ski slopes - Walk through the July wildflower bloom that gives Crested Butte its claim as Colorado's wildflower capital - Fish the Taylor River canyon or raft the Gunnison through Almont - Join Cattlemen's Days in July, Colorado's oldest rodeo - Drive Kebler Pass in late September when the aspen groves turn gold

Gunnison makes a good base for a Western Slope loop. Crested Butte is the obvious half-hour trip, Lake City and the start of the Alpine Loop are about an hour south over Slumgullion Pass, and Salida and the Arkansas River are an hour and a quarter east over Monarch Pass. Montrose sits about an hour west past the Black Canyon. Gunnison is known as one of the coldest spots in the lower 48 in winter, which locals mention with some pride, and the valley sage-grouse put on their spring dance at dawn. Come for the fishing, stay for the quiet, and leave with a dusty truck.