The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“Even people who don’t bike see the sense in it.”
By Alissa Johnson
Since deciding to market the Gunnison Valley as a mountain biking destination, the Gunnison/ Crested Butte Tourism Association (TA) has hit the ground running…er, biking. A new mountain biking website launched in April as did a mobile app, and trail signage is in the works. Online traffic is on the rise, and early indicators suggest things are moving in the right direction.
This summer, TA interactive marketing manager Laurel Runcie gave an update on all things mountain biking to the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council, which gave the TA a $43,000 grant toward its marketing efforts.
Runcie confirmed that the new website, mtbhome.com, launched April 22 and by early summer had more than 6,500 sessions (visits) on the site averaging 3.48 pages per session.
“People are spending a good chunk of time on the site. They’re digging in, they’re learning more about mountain biking here, and we also have a really low bounce rate, 6.6 percent,” Runcie said.
The number of sessions and organic search traffic are both on the rise. Runcie says that during July, the website has 88% more sessions than the previous month.
The TA also ran an online ad campaign on popular mountain biking websites such as pinkbike.com, tetongravity.com and mtbr.com. Runcie confirmed that the mountain biking app launched in April as well, receiving more than 3,000 sessions and nearly 500 map downloads before most of the valley’s trails were even open.
“I think that’s pretty good since most people don’t want to download to their phone until they’re going to use it,” Runcie said.
In July, the app saw an 82% increase in the number of sessions compared to June. It also just got a makeover. Originally, it functioned more like a website, but the new version functions more like an app and is easier to use.
Plans are also in the works for trail signage. Runcie expects the full project to require three years to complete, but the TA will start with seven kiosks, one each for Brush Creek, both ends of Snodgrass, Judd Falls trailhead, Oh Be Joyful, Big Mine, and Town Ranch. There will also be 54 locator maps with “you are here” spots at trail junctions, as well as “respect private property” signs at various locations. The TA has been partnering with the Forest Service and the ranching community throughout.
TA executive director John Norton told the News that the signing process has taken longer than online developments because the TA has been committed to accommodating community partnerships and making sure the branding on the sign fits with the community. Yet he attributes the overall speed with which the TA has been able to implement mountain bike marketing to the support of the community.
“When we got the green light to pursue mountain biking from the BOCC and the TA board and approached CBMBA, Gunnison Trails and the larger mountain bike community, it was like taking a cork out of a shaken Champagne bottle. We found so much overflowing energy in the valley for mountain biking,” he said.
Great trails existed, developer Derrick Nehrenberg had already started building an app, and races such as the Enduro World Series were already planned.
“A lot of our efforts have been channeling all that existing energy. We’ve been plenty busy but haven’t needed to convince the valley that mountain biking is a solid direction for the valley to head. Even people who don’t bike see the sense in it,” Norton continued.
In addition to the growing website traffic, Norton believes some of those efforts have come to fruition—the Gunnison Growler was bigger than ever, for example. But as the summer progresses, Norton and Runcie will be canvasing local bike shops to get a better sense for how mountain biking tourism unfolded this summer.
And as Runcie made clear to the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council, this is only year one. Next year, the TA will continue to have a presence at trade shows such as the Colorado Bike Expo, and she and Norton plan to pursue grant funding from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department to help continue the project next summer.
Runcie also pointed out that Gunnison Valley trails are the envy of surrounding areas. Representatives from Steamboat attended the same tradeshow as the TA this spring, and expressed some jealousy. “They have several million dollars over the next couple of years to build trail and when they’re done, they won’t have anywhere close to what we have already,” she said.
And as Mt. Crested Butte mayor David Clayton pointed out, “CBMBA likes to say [Steamboat is] spending $5 million and we’re buying beer.” Evidence for the love of mountain biking, indeed.
