Luxury dog-friendly hotels in Crested Butte, United States

Crested Butte might be a warm-hearted ski town today, but it started life with the rough-and-ready character of the Wild West. Bank robber and ‘Wild Bunch’ leader Butch Cassidy once had to leave town in such a hurry that he left his pistols hanging on the bar at Kochevar’s, a watering hole that you can still drink in today. Fast forward a hundred years or so, and you’ll find that things are a little more domesticated. Strolling down Elk Avenue on a frosty evening, you can’t help but feel charmed by the frontier town-esque looks of the shops and restaurants, which are now painted in such bright colours that it seems like they’ve sprung up from the page of a child’s drawing. With warm light blazing from the windows and the scent of a dozen cuisines on the air, they have a truly magnetic pull, too. Cross the threshold and you’ll quickly meet the locals, an authentic, active bunch with life-long love affairs with the mountain. But Crested Butte isn’t all about the winter; unlike some ski towns, this one doesn’t empty when the snow melts. The terrain that makes it so good for snowsports is given over to mountain biking, whitewater rafting, hiking and horse-riding – all against a backdrop of moss-green mountains speckled with wildflowers. The surrounding area may be pure wilderness, but this resort town is rollicking all year round.