Great Spring Break Ideas

Like building snowmen in your backyard and spending uninterrupted time with loved ones?  Take winter fun to the next level, Rocky Mountain-style, in Gunnison Crested Butte, Colo., where family merriment and total relaxation abounds in our 1880s-era towns that are rich in history and friendliness.

On the Ski Mountain, Mt. Crested Butte

Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR, http://www.skicb.com/) offers fun for all ages, even if you don't ski! Of course there is plenty of options to cruise all levels of slopes on your own or with a guide/instructor or challenge your child or grandchild to a timed race down Smith Hill and test your mettle in three  terrain parks (easy and advanced), superpipe or slalom course.  Kids get their own trail map that shows some awesome trails where adult skis won't even fit.

The new lift-served tubing hill and Adventure Park with year-round ice-skating, bungee trampolines and a climbing wall expands options for families this season.  You also can tap into the magic of sleighride dinners to the Ice Bar at Uley's Cabin pulled by a snowcat, daytime and moonlight snowshoe tours, and snow igloos located by the Ice Bar and Camp CB, the kids' ski school.

There are skiing and snowboarding lessons for youth and adults at CBMR, as well as through Adaptive Sports Center (http://www.adapativesports.org/) for family members with physical and/or cognitive disabilities.  There's also child care for the wee ones, not to mention Kid's Night Out, available Tuesday - Saturday evenings from 4 - 8 p.m. for ages 4 - 12.  Dinner and access to the Adventure Park and tubing hill are part of the Kid's Night Out activities.

If skiing is your family's passion, parents and children, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons or even skiing siblings are encouraged to join Olympian and local resident Wendy Fisher for a truly unique Family Extreme Clinic on Jan. 16 - 17.  Fisher and her team of instructors will teach families how to maximize their time together on the mountain, while focusing on each participant's individual needs. Initial work will focus on evaluating and enhancing individual techniques on groomed trails. The group will then move on to bumps, vertical, trees and The Extreme Limits terrain. 

During ski season, the Trailhead Children's Discovery Museum will be open every day in the Treasury Center from Dec. 4 to April 4, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Kids can enjoy an indoor playground, science experiments, art stations and several exhibits, with special events being held every Saturday at 10 a.m.  Admission is $6 per person or a family of four can buy an unlimited-visits pass for the entire winter for $125.  For information go to http://www.thetrailheadcb.org/.

In Town, Crested Butte Area

The Crested Butte Nordic Center conveniently offers cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating and sledding all in one place. The Nordic Center grooms more than 50k of trails and offers instruction, equipment rentals and many events.  Use of the outdoor ice rink and sledding hill are free, and a pass is required to use the groomed trails. Call (970) 349-1707 or visit http://www.cbnordic.org/.

If you'd rather not expel your own energy to get around and love horses and dogs, check out one of these great options.

• Board a horse-drawn sleigh at Lazy F Bar Ranch south of Crested Butte for a scenic, 35-minute ride to a rustic 1950s cabin overlooking the East River and indulge in a five-course meal.  Visit http://www.lazyfbarranch.com/.
• Head out with Fantasy Ranch Horseback Adventures for a one-hour ride in the Almont area.  Halfway through the journey, warm up by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa.  The cost is $50 per person or $60 with transportation.
•  There is nothing quite like being pulled by a team of dogs in the thick of mountain terrain capped with snow.  Dog sledding with Lucky Cat Dog Farm is one of those lifetime experiences not to be missed.  Visit http://www.luckycatdogfarm.com/ or call (970) 641-1636 for details about lunch tours and short tours.  

Enjoy a little history and culture at the Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum, where there are displays about local history, including skiing, ranching, mining, local personalities and more. The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame also is located in the museum, along with a gift shop that all ages relish. Just down the street, catch a concert or art exhibit at the Crested Butte Center for the Arts and take in a little theatre at a production presented by Crested Butte Mountain Theatre.  Or get the creative juices flowing and paint your own pottery at The Pottery Place, which is part of The Studio Art School, which offers art classes for all ages. 

Must-stops for young families on Elk Avenue are Pooh's Corner and Petite Lavish, and teens love sitting on the floor on pillows or beanbags to eat gourmet pizza at The Secret Stash and shopping for the latest sunglasses at Shades of Crested Butte and styles at Retail Therapy.