Long the domain of Native Americans who followed elk, deer and other game to this area in the warmer months and who harvested trout from its cool streams, the region saw its first European settlers in the early 1800s. Crested Butte flourished for a time as a mining town, declining in the early to mid-20th century. It began a new era in 1961 with the opening of its first ski runs. Twenty-five years later, it started hosting the Wildflower Festival, and the town is now known as the Wildflower Capital of Colorado.