Gunnison is a mountain and college town with a thriving downtown
In Gunnison Valley, where tourists flock for natural recreation, Gunnison is a vibrant residential area with a busy downtown and a college campus. With the change of seasons, distant snowcapped peaks become blanketed with wildflowers, signaling the transition from ski season into summer vacation season. “We have everything we need, plus the appeal of it being a very community-friendly, outdoorsy town,” says Meredith Zaltsman, Marketing Manager at Gunnison Crested Butte Tourism and Prosperity Partnership. “We also have a really cute town with things like an annual Christmas tree lighting on Main Street. It looks like a Hallmark movie. It was one of those things I didn’t know about before moving here, but I really couldn’t be happier.” Students going home for breaks from Western Colorado University are replaced by the influx of tourists seeking the area's outdoor adventures, keeping Gunnison's population pretty steady year-round.
Skiing, skating and trekking trails from parks to Hartman Rocks
City parks include Jorgensen Park, which has a BMX track, skate park and a pond for fishing in warm months and ice skating in the winter. The park also has baseball fields and an ice complex where local hockey leagues play. A dog park is adjacent to the fields. Legion Park features a playground with a rock climbing structure. Van Tuyl Trail, which totals over 4 miles, runs along the Gunnison River and weaves through ranchland. The trailhead for the path is at Charmar Park, which has tennis and pickleball courts. “Gunnison River feeds into Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest reservoir in Colorado,” says Brian Byrd, the owner and broker of Byrd & Company Real Estate, LLC, with 38 years of experience “Blue Mesa is just fabulous, a lot of recreation with camping, some of the biggest trout in the state come out of it; elk hunting and deer hunting are also popular there.”
Dos Rios Golf Club has an 18-hole public course, which remains a source of recreation year-round even though it becomes blanketed with snow in the off-season. “They groom it in the winter for Nordic skiing, so many people ski on those trails,” Zaltsman says. “Hartman Rocks is an amazing hiking and mountain biking location since it’s close to town.” The recreation area includes 45 miles of singletrack trail, some of which is groomed in the winter for fat biking. Roughly 16 of the 45 miles of all-terrain vehicle-friendly roads are groomed for cross-country skiing and skate skiing.
Homes from gridded streets to the Dos Rios Golf Course
Gunnison’s southwestern residential communities include single-family homes on the Dos Rios Golf Course. Architecture on the fairways includes ranch-style and New Traditional homes with rustic finishes. Depending on home size, prices range from nearly $690,000 to $1.7 million. Bungalows, ranch-style, split-levels and other and traditional architecture styles are common in northern Gunnison. Prices in this region go from $250,000 to $1 million, depending on home size. “Housing is kind of scarce in Gunnison, just because it’s a college town, so people have bought rental properties and rent out to the college students,” Byrd says. The rental population is larger than the owner population, and some properties are listed on vacation rental websites instead of student housing sites.
Townhouses and condos are also in the area. Condo prices range from about $150,000 to $680,000. Townhouses are priced between $280,000 and $1 million. The home price for both condos and townhouses depends on size and proximity to the golf course.
Gunnison schools and higher education at Western Colorado University
Gunnison Watershed School District serves the area and includes seven schools. Students may attend Gunnison Elementary School and Gunnison Middle School, both of which earn B-minus grades from Niche. Gunnison High School is the district’s only comprehensive high school, and it scores a B overall. High schoolers may take concurrent enrollment courses in subjects such as environmental science. The program grants students the opportunity to earn college credits through Western Colorado University, a public four-year institution nearby. “The college is a nice thing that adds to the town. They offer their recreation center, which has a climbing gym, put on fun events and have football games,” Zaltsman says.
Local shops and restaurants from Main Street to Tomichi Avenue
Main Street has many locally owned restaurants, as well as Walmart and City Market for groceries. “A wonderful coffee shop that people love to work from is Tributary Coffee Roasters. They’ve got great breakfast burritos and a nice patio outside,” Zaltsman says. “Crested Bucha is relatively newer; it’s hip and fun. They’ll bring in live music and an open mic night.” Pawsitively Native Pet Boutique and hobby shops, such as Gunnison River Fly Shop, are also on Main Street. Tomichi Avenue has sporting goods stores, such as Gene Taylors, and restaurants, including The Dive Pub and 5B’s Barbecue.
Celebrations, including Cattlemen’s Days and holiday events downtown
Cattlemen’s Days is one of the area’s longest-running events and was created to celebrate ranching culture. Festivities are held at various venues for a few weeks in the summer. Fred Field Center hosts events such as rodeos, 4-H programming and livestock auctions. Gunnison County Fairgrounds hosts evening carnivals as part of the event series. Downtown hosts holiday celebrations, such as Independence Day. “They do a lot of fun things for Halloween. They’ll close down Main Street and do a big event for kids to trick or treat safely, and they have music,” Zaltsman says. “There are always farmers markets. It’s a very family-friendly area.”
Public transit and drives from mountain resort to reservoir
Gunnison Crested Butte Regional Airport is in the city’s center and has direct flights to Dallas, Denver and Houston. Some residences are located near the airport and may experience noise. “We have a nice hospital called Gunnison Valley Health Hospital. To have a hospital and an airport in a small mountain town is huge, so we’re very fortunate to have many of the amenities you would look for in a medium or slightly larger town like Salida or Grand Junction,” Zaltsman says. Gunnison Valley Rural Transit Authority (RTA) serves the area with buses that run between the city and Mount Crested Butte, about 30 miles north. Colorado Highway 135 connects Gunnison to Crested Butte, including Mount Crested Butte, where the Crested Butte Mountain Resort is located. U.S. Highway 50 runs west and east, tying the area to Blue Mesa Reservoir.
