The Town of Carbondale is a home rule municipality located in Garfield County, Colorado, United States.

The Roaring Fork and Crystal Valleys historically were a seasonal home and hunting ground of the Parianuche and Yampa bands of the Ute people.

In the years after 1879, white prospectors and settlers defied U.S. treaties with the Utes and entered the area in increasingly significant numbers.

Farmers and ranchers capitalized on open lands around Carbondale to supply food for miners in nearby Aspen, then a booming center of silver mining activity.

The coal mined from the area was favored for its high burning temperature, low sulfur content, and density.

The rise of Aspen as a skiing mecca and subsequent hyperinflation of its real estate prices has forced a majority of its workers to other towns like Carbondale.

More recently Carbondale has seen a boom of second-home construction, arts and recreational amenities, and tourism as the area's wealth and renown has grown.

[citation needed] Carbondale's largest annual event is the summer arts and music festival, Mountain Fair held in Sopris Park.

The popular Carbondale Wild West Rodeo[10] is held every Thursday night during the summer and features bronc riding, calf scramble, hide racing, and ribbon roping among other competitions.

The Third Street Center[12] is a local nonprofit hub in the town's former elementary school that hosts many community organizations.