The Station Basalt

It was a Monday morning in early July and the sun was already abusing me.

 I had a dream about snow the night before and as I slowly affixed my sandals in the morning I lamented the fact that I wouldn’t be wearing jeans and closed-toed shoes for a chilly winter day. I know I’m not the only one out there dreaming of snow. The schedule-one-fire-ban-stretches of the Rockies were dreaming for the additional moisture that snow should have brought them last season, but alas, it’s drought time again. Skiers and snowboarders up around Aspen missed out on the illustrious mud season as summer defeated their dreams of fresh powder posthaste. I was headed that morning for the heart of it all in colorful, quaint Basalt, Colorado. Located a stone’s throw away from Glenwood Springs, Basalt is a high-class touristy town laden with mom and pop restaurants, ski rental shops, and a bunch of camping gear that I’ll never be able to afford. Right in the center of downtown is a new stop for locals and skiers alike. The Station is a brand-new recreational and soon-to-be-open medicinal marijuana dispensary born from the heart and soul of its sister store in Boulder, Colorado. The Station is a truly family-owned business and has just about as much soul as you can cram into a dispensary. I found my way up I-70 along the river as I casually eyed some late-season rafters trying to claim the last fleeting trickle of spring water. By the time I arrived, it was almost 90 out which stupid hot for mountain standards and certainly a distant cry off from the winter wonderland that will coat this area come fall. I located The Station very easily off the main street in downtown Basalt. Just because it was the offseason for skiing and snowboarding didn’t mean this is cute little mountain town wasn’t packed with hikers, campers, and Colorado socialites enjoying cold craft brews and other mountain shenanigans. After circling around the block, I found a parking spot near the front and made my way up to The Station to see what was in store for me.

I was greeted by the familiar face of Jaclyn, a long-time employee of The Station who had recently moved up from Boulder to Glenwood Springs. I was also greeted by the new faces of Zach, Shaylene, and Joe. Although Joe was on his way out, I was able to coerce the group into posing for a photo out front of the store. Before I get too far into the dispensary and the products, let me take a moment to nerd out about the construction on the inside of The Station Basalt. As an amateur woodworker and all-around construction junkie, I can spot a custom build from a mile away. The Station in Basalt was just that, an entirely custom-built interior. Just as its sister store The Station in Boulder sports an entirely custom woodwork design the Basalt location has an equally impressive portioning of custom-made woodwork all thanks to Jack, one of the owners of The Station. I will claim to know my way around a router but the woodwork and the overall finish on what he has done at The Station is way beyond anything I’m capable of. Fine handcrafted dark wood cabinetry matches perfectly with real hardwood doors all of which were custom made for the space and masterfully decorated with a bounty of art and landscape photography scenes provided by local artists (all of which was for sale for some pretty great prices). I was particularly enamored with some of the artwork that used dried cannabis leaves directly on the canvas. 

A hint of artful grey wood-themed tile brought everything together to make one of the most handsome dispensaries I’ve ever had the fortune of visiting. Alright, enough nerding out about construction stuff. I was ready to check out the recreational side of The Station Basalt. Due to some funky permit work the medical side of The Station Basalt still won’t be open for another month or two, but in the meantime, the recreational side is alive and kicking. Jaclyn and Zack guided me back through the main door into a recreational bud room that was the perfect combination of intimacy and efficiency. More of Jack’s fine woodwork made its mark in the form of a custom bud counter and handmade wood and glass display cases. Everything was immaculate, which is what I’ve come to expect when visiting The Station in Boulder. It also doesn’t hurt that the new Station in Basalt was only three weeks old when I made my visit. Zach and Jaclyn started by going over the bud selection at The Station. If you’re new to cannabis purchasing then The Station is a good first time visit because the pricing is very basic, makes sense, and is easily accessible for newcomers. There are three shelves to choose from top shelf, mid shelf, and sale shelf. The pricing was very cut-and-dry (cannabis cultivation pun intended). Top Shelf pricing was $15 for a gram, $45 for an eighth, $85 for a quarter, and $160 for a half ounce. Mid shelf was $13 for a gram, $40 for an eighth, $65 for a quarter, and $120 for a half ounce. Sale shelf pricing rang up at $11 for a gram, $30 for an eighth, $55 for a quarter, and $100 for a half ounce. What makes all these prices better is that they’re all out the door. That makes the sale shelf a real bargain when you consider mountain-town taxes.

What makes The Station’s cannabis so amazing is not its price but it’s quality. The Station grows all its own crops in-state where they are freshly cultivated specifically for their dispensaries in Boulder and Basalt. It is hard for me to put into words the caliber of this cannabis. I’ll try to encapsulate my description by talking about Zach’s favorite strain on the shelf OG Sin. When Zach placed the jar of OG Sin in front of me and open the lid I could smell an immediate dankness that permeated every inch of my nostrils. That familiar OG funk in concert with a glistening trichome smattered appearance makes OG Sin a strain worth pining over. Top that off with Zach’s description of a high that is never racy or panicky despite a 25% – 28% THC potency and you’ve got some fine chronic that you can really sink a lighter into. If you’re afraid that the sale shelf is lacking in its quality or caliber of genetics, during my visit Golden Goat, Sour Kush, and Ghost Dream were the strains available on the sale shelf. Let me tell you, they all looked good (especially that Golden Goat). There were even CBD-rich strains to choose from on the shelf at The Station which is a huge boon for anyone who may want to smoke cannabis for medicinal purposes or for those of us recreational users that have found out just how amazing CBD is. The flower options don’t end there as The Station Basalt also sports a robust selection of strain-specific pre-rolls in pretty much every variety you can find on the Shelf.

Moving on, Zach and Jaclyn started to go over the edible, concentrate, topical, and device options available at The Station Basalt. Edible selection at The Station was pretty decent and sported an abundance of Colorado Staples including amazing chocolates from Coda, tried-and-true Cheeba Chews, Green Hornets, teas and powders from Stillwater, serious munchies from The Growing Kitchen, small mountain-made shots from Magic Buzz, various treats from District Edibles, assorted gummies from Wana, and some obligatory Dabba products as well. Jaclyn mentioned there are more edibles to come including one of my absolute favorites Blue Kudu Bonbons. As far as concentrates go The Station had a very formidable selection of top-tier extraction companies. Aside from having a full lineup of O.Pen cartridges and Pax Era pods The Station Basalt also had a huge lineup of Evolab cartridges. If you’ve never experienced a cartridge from Evolabs, I’ll point out that they’re my absolute favorite. As far as loose concentrates go The Station Basalt only carries the best. A veritable smorgasbord of shatter, wax, and live resin from various suppliers graced the back shelves. After perusing the Kush Master’s live resin (which I know for a fact is amazing), Zach pointed out some of the Double Black concentrates available. Double Black is a concentrate company that I am unfamiliar with but has been producing concentrates out of Carbondale for quite some time now. As Zach described their Melee Crystal concentrate I’ll admit to being very titillated by the concept of a giant crystal of THC as Zach put it “floating in pool of terpenes”. Unfortunately, due to Double Black’s opaque packaging, the aesthetics are still going to be a bit of a mystery to me for now.

I finished off my mini-tour by checking out their topical selection on the bottom shelf. The Station Basalt has the full lineup of topical products from Mary’s Medicinals and Mary Jane’s. These are hands-down two of my favorite topical production companies and if you’re looking for any dermal application of cannabis then you’re in luck. The topical selection includes everything from lip balms and pain pens to dermal patches and lotions. Simply put, The Station has what you need for topicals. I finished my visit by perusing some of the smoking device options at The Station in Basalt. As a tourist town, the main focus was basic toke-and-toss devices. There was a large selection of small three-inch glass pipes that would make for worthy discreet smoking apparatuses. The most attractive thing about all these little pipes was the pricing. Most of the little glass pipes available on the Shelf at The Station would only run you $3. So, if you’re simply visiting Colorado and know that your pipe won’t be coming home with you, it won’t be a great loss to dispose of one of these little $3 pipes. There were also a few art pipes to choose from ranging in prices from $50 up to $300. Between the large selection of pre-rolls and the bounty of different smokable cartridges and small vape pens, The Station’s smoking device section was quite robust.

I said my farewells to that staff, and sincerely hope that I’ll need to head back up and visit them all again soon. The Station Basalt is more than just an amazing dispensary. There’s a whole lot of heart put into this location. I have no doubts in my mind that it will only be a matter of time before The Station in Basalt will become an integral part of the community just as The Station in Boulder has become an absolute staple of the region. The next time you find yourself up in the beautiful Rockies whether it’s this fall to hit the slopes or this summer to go for a hike or soak in the hot springs, stop by The Station for some cannabis that is uniquely Colorado. Also, if you’re a medicinal user in the area keep your eyes peeled for the medical opening at The Station. Medical sales should start within the next few months, but in the meantime, enjoy some of The Station’s fine recreational products and get to know the amazing staff at the helm of this beautiful mountain dispensary. As for me, I’m just counting the days until that first snow.

If you get an opportunity to visit The Station of Basalt, Colorado let them know you heard of them through the Dope Directory, and please give them a rating.