Mountains
Gunnison County
30 Porch Notes tied to Gunnison County — the local details that change from one part of Colorado to the next.
Money and taxes (1)
Water and land (4)
Water and land
Black Canyon's dark walls are nearly two-billion-year-old rock
The steep, dark walls of Black Canyon of the Gunnison are ancient Precambrian gneiss and schist laced with pink pegmatite dikes, cut into a narrow gorge by the Gunnison River.
Read note ->Water and land
Blue Mesa is a federal reservoir, not the county's tap water
Blue Mesa Reservoir is part of a National Park Service recreation area on the Gunnison River and is managed by federal agencies, separate from any town's drinking-water system.
Read note ->Water and land
Taylor Park Reservoir and the Taylor River below it
Taylor Park Reservoir is a Forest Service reservoir in the upper Taylor River basin, and the Taylor River below the dam is a designated Gold Medal trout fishery.
Read note ->Water and land
The Gunnison River through Black Canyon has special fishing rules
The Gunnison River through Black Canyon is Gold Medal and Wild Trout water with flies-or-lures-only rules, catch-and-release for rainbow trout, and a no-fishing zone in the first 200 yards below Crystal Dam.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire (9)
Outdoors and wildfire
Almont Triangle is a wildlife area, not a park, and closes in winter
The Almont Triangle State Wildlife Area near Gunnison needs a license or SWA pass to enter and closes to the public each winter to protect wintering big game.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Black Canyon and Curecanti are certified dark-sky parks
Both Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area are certified International Dark Sky Parks, so the night sky is part of what they protect.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Castle Peak is reached from Brush Creek Road near Crested Butte
Castle Peak, a high Elk Mountains summit, is approached from the Gunnison County side up Brush Creek Road and into Cumberland Basin, on a long backcountry route.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Crested Butte, the Wildflower Capital of Colorado
The Colorado legislature named Crested Butte the state's Wildflower Capital in 1990, and the valley's summer meadows back up the title.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Hartman Rocks is BLM land with free dispersed campsites and a spring closure
Hartman Rocks Recreation Area south of Gunnison is BLM land with trails and free first-come dispersed campsites, but part of it closes each spring for sage-grouse.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Motorboats on Blue Mesa need an inspection before launch
To keep out invasive zebra and quagga mussels, motorized and trailered boats must pass an aquatic-species inspection before launching at Blue Mesa Reservoir in Curecanti.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Near Crested Butte, forest camping has moved to designated sites
In several drainages around Crested Butte, the national forest now limits camping to designated sites or established campgrounds rather than camp-anywhere dispersed use.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
The Gunnison sage-grouse shapes life across the Gunnison Basin
The Gunnison sage-grouse is a federally listed bird whose sagebrush habitat covers much of the Gunnison Basin, and its protection touches land use and recreation here.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
The West Elk Wilderness is remote and closed to bikes and motors
The West Elk Wilderness in the Gunnison National Forest is a large, lightly visited area where, as in all wilderness, bikes and motorized vehicles are not allowed.
Read note ->Cars and driving (3)
Cars and driving
Black Canyon's two rims do not connect by road
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park has a South Rim and a North Rim, but no bridge or road links them, so driving from one to the other is a long trip on outside roads.
Read note ->Cars and driving
Kebler Pass is gravel, famous for fall aspens, and closed in winter
Kebler Pass west of Crested Butte is a gravel road through huge aspen stands, part of the West Elk Loop scenic byway, and it closes each winter.
Read note ->Cars and driving
Some Gunnison County passes close for the whole winter
Several high routes around Gunnison County, including Kebler and Cottonwood passes, close seasonally for winter, so summer shortcuts are not year-round roads.
Read note ->Local rules (2)
Local rules
Building in sage-grouse habitat can mean an early talk with the county
In mapped Gunnison sage-grouse habitat, Gunnison County requires a pre-application conference for certain land-use projects and lets owners request one before building or septic permits.
Read note ->Local rules
Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte are two separate towns
Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte are two distinct incorporated towns in Gunnison County, with their own governments and rules, even though their names are nearly the same.
Read note ->History and culture (11)
History and culture
Black Canyon went from monument to national park
Black Canyon of the Gunnison was first protected as a national monument in 1933 and became a national park in 1999. The park named for the Gunnison River sits in neighboring Montrose County.
Read note ->History and culture
Cattlemen's Days, the rodeo Gunnison has run since 1900
Each July, Gunnison stages Cattlemen's Days, a working-ranch rodeo it traces back to 1900 and bills as Colorado's oldest.
Read note ->History and culture
Coal, ore, and rail explain the Gunnison Country map
Mining and the railroads that served it help explain why Gunnison, Crested Butte, and the smaller camps sit where they do.
Read note ->History and culture
Crested Butte's old town is a coal-era historic district
The core of Crested Butte is a recognized historic district whose false-front wooden buildings date from its days as a coal-mining town with a large immigrant workforce.
Read note ->History and culture
Crystal Mill: the wooden powerhouse on the Crystal River
An 1892 wooden powerhouse perched on a rock outcrop above the Crystal River, in the old mining town of Crystal east of Marble, and one of Colorado's most photographed historic structures.
Read note ->History and culture
Gothic: a silver ghost town turned research station
Gothic, north of Crested Butte, boomed as a silver camp, emptied into a ghost town, and was reborn as the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory.
Read note ->History and culture
How the Gunnison name landed on the river, county, and town
The river, county, and town of Gunnison all carry the name of Captain John W. Gunnison, a U.S. Army surveyor who passed through during an 1853 railroad survey.
Read note ->History and culture
The Alpine Tunnel: a narrow-gauge railroad under the Divide
The Alpine Tunnel Historic District preserves the railbed and stone tunnel where a narrow-gauge line once crossed the Continental Divide into Gunnison County.
Read note ->History and culture
The Crested Butte heritage museum lives in an old hardware store
Crested Butte's heritage museum is housed in one of the town's oldest frame buildings, a former blacksmith shop and hardware store, and tells the area's mining and town history.
Read note ->History and culture
The town of Marble and the stone in the Lincoln Memorial
Marble, a small town in northern Gunnison County, grew around the Yule marble quarry, whose stone was used in the Lincoln Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Read note ->History and culture
Why Gunnison Feels Like a College Town
Western Colorado University, the first college on the Western Slope, has shaped the rhythm and character of Gunnison since its first class of 13 students in 1911.
Read note ->