Why Telluride?

Telluride is a small ski resort in the southwest corner of Colorado. Tucked away in a box canyon, surrounded by the mighty peaks of the San Juans, Telluride was a popular summer “vacation spot” for the Ute Indians and later became populated with miners who came to work in the gold and silver mines in the mid -1870’s. The mining camp was originally called Columbia (which you can still see the traces of in street names, hotel names etc.) and changed name to Telluride as it became a town in 1878.
Followed by the railroad movement in the late 1800’s, Telluride expanded rapidly to a thriving community of 5,000 people, mostly consisting of immigrants who had come to seek their fortune. When silver prices crashed in 1893 however, followed by WWI, Telluride’s population reduced to a couple of hundred.

The history as a ski town started in the 1970’s. Telluride was discovered as a true haven for great powder snow and opened as a ski resort in 1973. Since then the ski resort has expanded to over 2,000 acres of ski terrain and 18 lifts (including 2 gondolas, which are unique in their own way), but most of all Telluride has remained true to its history, its natural beauty and small mountain town mentality. Locals of Telluride are truly devoted to not change the town’s historic charm or its access to nature and open spaces. There are no “commercial chain” stores in Telluride, which means that everything is locally owned – no WalMart’s, no Motel 6’s or any other national chain.

What you will find in Telluride however is a friendly, relaxed attitude from its locals and plenty of beautiful, accessible nature – both for some of the best skiing in the world and for summer activities like biking, hiking, rafting and horseback riding. Telluride has earned a reputation as a legendary ski resort, with unsurpassed beauty and charm and world-class skiing and dining. Telluride gets an average snowfall of 309 inches over 2,000+ skiable acres – in addition to that, Telluride also has an average of 300 days of sunshine per year and no lift lines! There is truly skiing for everyone, with 24% beginner skiing, 38% intermediate and 38% expert terrain. All slopes are easily accessible from either Telluride or Mountain Village and with access to the free gondola, Telluride is truly a ski-in/out access town. Telluride and Mountain Village are also built as walking-towns with truly everything located within walking distance (or accessed by a short gondola ride), which makes driving within town limits unnecessary.

Mountain Village is about 15 years old and is Telluride’s neighboring town mid-mountain. It is built as a European style ski resort with great access to the ski slopes. There is also plenty of lodging options, from hotel rooms to condos to amazing vacation homes, along with shopping and dining. Mountain Village is also easily accessible to/from Telluride with a short 15-minute (really beautiful) free (!) gondola ride. The gondola is open year-round (except for shorter closures during off-season) and is open daily from 7 am-midnight. Overall, the Telluride area has over 50 restaurants, bars and coffee shops, and with the amount of quality restaurants available, Telluride’s dining can certainly be compared to that of New York or Los Angeles.

As a ski resort, Telluride is always re-inventing itself. Last year’s opening of Black Iron Bowl (a short hike from the top of Lift 12 – Prospect Lift), meant a spectacular addition to the resort’s hike-to expert terrain for fresh tracks virtually all season. This season, Telluride Ski Resort is opening Revelation Bowl – Telluride’s newest “perfect powder bowl”. This terrain was previously on hike-to only access, but with this year’s addition of a quad chair lift, this unique terrain will be more easily accessible for thrill-seekers looking for fresh tracks while surrounded by the 13,000+ foot peaks of the San Juans.

What makes Telluride unique is the constant mixture of opposites; Telluride’s historic charm and Mountain Village’s elegance, luxury hotels and rustic, historic buildings, the unsurpassed ski terrain, yet easily accessible from anywhere in Telluride, the town’s secluded location yet easily accessible from several airports and small, locally owned businesses with world-class products and services, such as fine dining, excellent spas and specialty boutiques. All these contradictions however are tied together by the locals’ and visitors’ love for the nature, closeness to world-class skiing and the wish to keep Telluride’s charm – making a visit Telluride and Mountain Village a truly unique experience unlike any other destination in Colorado or even the!

For the easiest way to access Telluride, please see our air and driving maps under “Getting Here”.