Crystal Mill — Attraction in Crested Butte

Even after reading numerous reviews, we showed up and still did not feel prepared. So I am going to hopefully help with that.

Getting there - As most other reviews have said, there is no service so put the address in your GPS earlier. You drive through the cute little town of Marble, and you will come across "Beaver Lake." There is a parking lot right next to it. There was a sign at Beaver Lake that said beyond this only use 4x4 cars. So, if you don't have a 4x4 car/ATV, etc, park at Beaver Lake. I personally do have a 4x4 subaru forester so we kept driving.

Note Based on most reviews, I decided I did not want to drive the trail. Reviews were saying how it is very rocky, narrow, really should only use an ATV, it can be narrow and very high drop-off/cliff, pain when someone is coming the opposite direction, and there are no railings (hands getting sweaty just thinking about it). I have a pretty new car so I didn't want to risk it and also did not want to be stressed out driving the entire time.

After Beaver Lake, you drive about a mile, and you get to dirt road. There will be some parking spots and some houses and also a fork in the road. Go right. Right when you go right, it looks like it gets pretty rough. We were fooled, and we parked right here because it looked steep and a little rocky. Wish we would have kept driving, for sure. It is steep for about a mile, but not that rocky. So that walk was a little brutal. My car definitely would have been able to handle this part, though. So I am just recommending, continue driving past the right fork in the road. The next mile is pretty easy-going.

After the brutal walk/ride up the hill, you will get to another fork in the road. There is a sign that says, "Town of Crystal 4 miles, Narrow Rough Road, 4x4 recommended." There is a sign underneath this sign that says "Lead King Basin 5 miles." So go right if you are wanting to get to Crystal Mill. THIS is the spot I wish I had parked at. There are 2-3 parking spots right by this sign that you can park at. The sign here is correct, beyond this sign it is very rough, very narrow, very stressful (in my opinion). So I would recommend parking here and then walking the rest of the way.

It is a four mile hike to Crystal Mill and took us about 2 hours. Come prepared with water, food, comfortable shoes, comfortable outfit, etc. It is not that difficult of a hike, but it is very long. Do not underestimate the 8 mile roundtrip hike. We did. The hike is beautiful - right along a beautiful river, waterfalls, evergreens everywhere, also Lizard Lake is BEAUTIFUL! Wondering why no one ever talks about this!?

Crystal Mill itself is beautiful.

We were dreading the 4 mile walk back and actually hitch-hiked with a man that was driving (yikes! but we made it out alive). So we got to also see how it was to drive. It took us an hour to get back. It was very rocky, very stressful (literally was covering my eyes at some parts), very slow, very high, etc. So please, don't drive if you are not experienced (I have been driving for 10 years and I still wouldn't have trusted myself). If you do drive, I would recommend something small, like an ATV. If you do drive, I hope your stress levels are typically low and you are an adrenaline junky. Clearly mine are not. If you are mentally and physically prepared for the 8 mile hike, then do that over driving.

I probably won't go back to Crystal Mill unless we have ATVs. I feel like that is the way to go.

Hopefully this...

Alright, the mill itself, FANTASTIC! The surrounding area and scenic views travelling to the mill, FANTASTIC! However: I drove the five miles in a Dodge Dakota 4x4, it did great, no problems whatsoever...except it's a bit wide for the trail, I slide on a rock and almost went over the edge...and I mean edge...a cliff really...at the bottom I saw a rusted out truck on it's roof. A jeep wrangler or Cherokee would be better suited because they're not as wide. What I'd really recommend, a four wheeler, it appeared to be the funner way to go and definitely safest. As far as mountain biking, anyone who tells you it's great there, LIARS. Sharp rocks, steep inclines, no fun.

Best way, hiking or a Jeep wrangler...most line production 4wheel drive trucks will make it, but if you meet up with another motorist on the treacherous part, someone's going to have to back down to a safe spot and I'm not lying about the cliff...once I was done taking pictures I prayed I wouldn't meet anyone on the trail back, I did, but it was in places where it was easy to maneuver. Hike or 4wheeler, that's my recommendation, any other way just isn't worth it. I had a blast despite almost going over the edge. The trail picture, well, that's the easiest part of the trail you have to drive and that's in the beginning. Oh, there is someone there charging 10 bucks to go beyond the ropes. You can still take pictures without paying...

Apparently a short drive from Marble(5 miles), but this is an off-road and one would require either a high clearance 4×4 or ATV/UTV if you are planning to drive to this place. we rented UTV from RPS rental and went to this iconic Colorado photo ops spot. En route we came across two beautiful lakes - first one is Beaver lake - popular and crowded as people could be seen fishing, sailing or camping. Then comes the serene Lizard lake - less crowded, quiet and pure bliss. Throughout the drive we had the company of Crystal River (more like a creek of crystal clear water) and colorful wild flowers. The actual place has a dilapidated cabin in the woods feeling, with Crystal River forming a small cascade in front of it. Would look even more spectacular during fall season, but I'd take it, fall season or not. Surreal!! You may have to shell out $5-10 to the supervisor of the place if you want to get a closer view by going down to the Riverside to take photos as it is still a private property. Once you are done with photography, don't forget to go another 1000 ft to the almost-abandoned town of Crystal. It boasts of 5-6 cabins of yesteryear , one of which has been turned into a gift shop/book center. It has a collection of goodies of this historic site. All in all, a unique and...