History & Geology Day Tours
Join the Crested Butte Museum with historian Duane Vandenbusche as we explore five different areas of Crested Butte and The Gunnison Valley. Below are details for each trip. For the first tour of the summer we will be joined by geologists Steve Jenkins.
Thursday, June 5th, 2025: History & Geology of the Black Canyon
Explore the history and geology of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison with Geologist Steve Jenkins and Historian Duane Vandenbusche.
We meet in Gunnison at 8am. Duane and Steve will go over their topics for the day and we will head out in the van to make stops along the way. A miner’s sack lunch and transportation are included in the ticket price. This tour will return to Gunnison around 4pm.
Tickets for members are $75 each and $85 for non-members.
Wednesday, July 9th, 2025: Ski Areas of Crested Butte
This tour will be centered around the history of the Ski Areas of Crested Butte, focusing on the early days of skiing, the Pioneer Ski Area, Rozman Hill, Pershing Mine Ski Hill, Quick’s Hill CBMR, and more.
We meet at the Crested Butte Museum at 8am. Duane will go over his topics for the day and we will head out in the van to make stops along the way. A miner’s sack lunch and transportation are included in the ticket price. This tour will return to the Museum around 3pm.
Tickets for members are $75 each and $85 for non-members.
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2025: The North Country
This tour will be centered around the history of The North Country focusing on O Be Joyful/Pittsburgh, Irwin, Elkton, Smith Hill, Marble, Paradise Divide, Yule Pass, Floresta, Schofield Park, Gothic, and Washington Gulch.
We meet at the Crested Butte Museum at 8am. Duane will go over his topics for the day and we will head out in the van to make stops along the way. A miner’s sack lunch and transportation are included in the ticket price. This tour will return to the Museum around 3pm.
Tickets for members are $75 each and for non-members are $85 each.
Wednesday, August 6th, 2025: Quartz and Tomichi Creeks
This tour will focus on the Gunnison, Parlin Pitkin and Ohio City areas. Topics include the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, the Pitkin Hotel, the Alpine Tunnel and more.
We meet in Gunnison at 8am. Duane will go over his topics for the day and we will head out in the van to make stops along the way. A miners sack lunch and transportation are included in the ticket price. This tour will return to Gunnison around 4pm.
Tickets for members are $75 each and for non-members are $85 each.
Wednesday, August 20th, 2025: Tin Cup/ Taylor Canyon
This tour will be centered around the history of Taylor Park – The Valley of the Gods. Topics will include Bomber Crash in Taylor Canyon, Taylor Dam & the Taylor Reservoir, Tin Cup, Tin Cup Town Hall & Cemetery, Dorchester, Star & Enterprise Mines, Rocky Brook Trail, Deadman’s Gulch and Spring Creek.
Meet in Almont in on Wednesday morning at 8am. After breakfast, we will head out in the van to make stops along the way. A miner’s packed lunch and transport is included in the ticket price. The tour will return to Almont around 4pm.
Tickets for members are $75 each and for non-members are $85 each.