A 2-day weekend in Crested Butte or Leadville built for families — Storybook Trail, the scenic train, fish hatchery, and the Children's Museum.
Ideal for: Families visiting Crested Butte or Leadville with kids aged 5–12 who want hands-on activities, low-altitude wins, and a great hot tub at the rental.
Written by the Traverse Hospitality team — locals managing 190+ vacation rentals across Colorado's Crested Butte, Leadville, Vail, Avon, Granby, and Twin Lakes markets. We've hosted thousands of guests and built these itineraries from the places we recommend to friends, family, and our own booked guests.
Grab coffee and pastries on Harrison — easy first stop to shake off the drive before the altitude hits.
Kids love feeding the trout in the display ponds — working federal hatchery since 1889 with easy nature trails and a picnic area.
Solid sandwiches and soups on Harrison — quick, kid-friendly, and easy on the wallet after the drive in.
The 11.6-mile paved loop is flat enough for a 7-year-old on a bike — rent wheels in town and let the kids lead the way past old mine headframes.
Brick-oven pizza is the right call after a bike loop — the local institution, packed every night, and kids always approve.
Mountain trips with kids need a different rhythm: hands-on activities, wins that don't require a 14er, and a hot tub to melt down into at the end of the day. This is a two-day plan you can run out of either Crested Butte or Leadville, weighted toward the things kids actually remember — a train, a trail with a story, and animals up close.
Both towns are high — Crested Butte around 8,900 feet, Leadville above 10,000 — and kids feel it too. Keep the first day mellow, push water all weekend, and plan for earlier bedtimes than usual. Low-key activities near town beat ambitious ones the first day.
If you're basing in Leadville, the Leadville Colorado & Southern Railroad scenic train is the easy headline — a relaxed ride through the mountains that little kids love and adults don't mind. Pair it with the hands-on Children's Museum for an indoor option if the weather turns. Near Leadville, the National Fish Hatchery is free, easy, and a hit with younger kids.
Keep the hiking short and interesting. A Storybook Trail — a walk with illustrated story pages posted along the route — turns a gentle hike into a game, which is exactly the trick for tired legs. Follow it with lakeside time or a playground and an early dinner.
Family trips need space — bedrooms, a full kitchen, laundry, and a hot tub — not a cramped hotel room. Booking direct through Traverse means no booking fees on our family-friendly Colorado rentals. Explore things to do in Crested Butte or in Leadville.
Two days of the best breakfast, restaurants, and craft drinks on Elk Avenue — built by the team that manages 80+ homes in Crested Butte.
Read itineraryMount Elbert or Mount Massive, Twin Lakes paddleboarding, and a scenic drive over Independence Pass — from your Leadville basecamp.
Read itineraryElk Avenue's historic district, the Mountain Heritage Museum, the Center for the Arts, and Townie Books — the local-life CB itinerary.
Read itineraryCrested Butte's greatest hits in two days — Elk Avenue, the mountain, a wildflower hike, and dinner with a view.
Read itineraryTell our Colorado team what you’re into and we’ll build a day-by-day itinerary with a map and matching vacation rentals — free, in under a minute.
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