Crested Butte

Real hill. Real town. You feel like you're actually on a vacation.

Don't let Crested Butte's No. 25 slot deter you. With arguably the toughest lift-served terrain in Colorado, you'll be thankful for the modest ranking because it keeps the steeps crowd-free at this "diamond in the West" that "locals have kept secret far too long." The Butte's trail map looks like a gem-counter display at Tiffany's, if it were run by goths—a beckoning trove of double-black diamonds.

Even so, don't leave the family behind. The bottom of the Butte is awash in blue and green, a layout that makes it possible to tackle the upper extremes, and then rendezvous with the kiddos on the lower mountain. To do this, head to any of the backside bowls—Phoenix, Spellbound, Third—all of which feed into the East River Express Lift, a beginners' Eden.

Readers complain that CB is "so far from everything." We think this is a plus. Then again, its remoteness is misleading. Don't bother driving from Denver. There are daily nonstop flights to Gunnison from Denver, Dallas and Houston, and then it's a quick 45-minute shuttle. Once you arrive, Crested Butte serves up the "best value for the dollar." And while its reputation as a "no-joke mountain" is merited, there's "lots of beginner stuff as well." One reader summed it up nicely: "Never crowded, great terrain, fabulous town."

What's New: Gladed Horseshoe Springs for expanded treeskiing; Uley's Cabin bistro; added snowmaking on beginner slopes

Mandatory Run: Hard Slab to Old Pro to Last Steep for powder stashes.

Local Tip: Blues off Prospector Lift are deserted even on "busy" days.