One of the more overlooked creeks in the area, quartz creek is a bit out of the way, but yields solitude as you work the rivers banks for small to medium sized browns and rainbows.  The foliage is thick in some places, but can clear up in others, so take your pick on where you fish and don’t be afraid to fish the tight spots.  The river is often low enough that if you get your fly caught, you can wade in and get it out.

Common dries and nymphs will work well here and high-floating, low maintenance dries with a BH dropper is what I recommend on most summer and fall days.  Though you can fish this in spring, the weather in the Gunnison area can be difficult to predict.  My pictures when I went were in late April and there was substantial snow and still looked too early to fish.  I found a couple trout, but I wish I had come 2 months later and it would be a different river.

It’s a scenic drive and can lead you back to Buena Vista if you take Hancock pass (4wd high clearance) and lead you into Chalk Creek, another great fishery.   You can also loop up north over Cumberland pass and get to Taylor Park and all the glorious fishing there. It gets overlooked cause there is likely better fishing in the area, but if you want solitude or something new, this is a fun spot to try out.