Guide to Telluride. The next Colorado mountain town you need to visit.

Guide to Telluride. The next Colorado Mountain Town you need to visit.

Telluride, Colorado is officially my favorite mountain town for many reasons! This old mining town in Southwest Colorado is about a 6 hour drive from Denver. They do have a small airport in Telluride, but we actually drove from Moab, Utah and it was only 2.5 hours. In this guide to Telluride I’ll be sharing activities to do, where to eat, drink, stay, and more!

Hiking Telluride

Bear Creek Trail is a 5.1 mile hike with an amazing waterfall at the end. The trail head is located right in town.
Bridal Veil Falls is a 4.8 mile hike which is very popular in Telluride. However it was actually my least favorite because in June when we went, there was a lot of snow melt and it flooded the trail so we had to hike on the road that cars were using to reach the top.
Jud Wieb Memorail Trail is a 3.1 mile hike with some incline! It gives you a view of everything Telluride has to offer. The stony colored mountains, the city, aspens, creeks, and more. If you’re up for a challenge add on Cornet Creek Falls when doing this hike. This will add an additional 0.6 miles of straight incline to your hike, but the view of this waterfall is incredible. For both trails, the trailhead is the same and starts in town.
Mt. Sneffles (A 14er) and Blue Lakes are longer hikes with more intensity. When we went in June these hikes were still covered in snow unfortunately so be sure to visit in July or August if you are planning to do these hikes! A guide to Telluride would have been helpful for me because I assumed by mid June they would have been cleared! Camping around these areas are an option as well that I hope to do one day.

Guide to Telluride. Where to stay

Telluride sits in a box canon meaning the city is within a vertical slit surrounded by 4 walls of the canyon. No matter where you turn, you will see direct mountain views than the sky compared to other Colorado mountain towns like Breckenridge that sit in a valley area with wide mountains. Telluride has two different areas, the town and mountain village. The town would be more comparable to Breckenridge, and the mountain village more comparable to Vail. Unless you’re skiing, I’d suggest staying in the town. This is where we stayed and we were able to take the free Gondola to mountain village. The Gondola ran until midnight or you can drive 15 minutes. Two of the trails I mentioned above we were able to access from the town without driving.

Where to Eat/Drink

A guide to Telluride, the next Colorado mountain town you need to visit wouldn’t be complete without yummy food and drinks!

Brown Dog Pizza is what so many locals recommended. However it turned out to be the second sister location to my favorite pizza joint in Denver, CO named Blue Pan Pizza. The pizza is delicious in either city, but Telluride is where it all began. We stopped in Last Dollar Saloon and New Sheridan for a drink while waiting on our pizza to be made.
Smugglers Cove was a delicious, affordable option. It is a brewery so you can expect high end bar food. I got the Mai Mai and my husband got the skirt steaks.
Rustico is a cute Italian place in town.
Coffee Cowboy is a small truck serving up coffee. Perfect for enjoying while exploring the town.
The Butcher & The Baker serves a great breakfast and lunch. Perfect post hike meal.
Allred’s is bit more upscale with incredible views at the top of the Gondola.
Black iron kitchen bar is located in mountain village and great for after skiing.
Telluride Distillery and Brewery are both located in mountain village. The Distillery had delicious cocktails.

Other Activities in the Guide to Telluride

We happen to be there during the Blue Grass Music Festival. It typically occurs in July, but this year they adjusted the dates. If you have the chance to drive the Million Dollar Highway from Telluride>Ouray>Silverton>Durango you should in the fall or summer, if you’re feeling fearless since there isn’t guard rails! There are plenty of spots to see along this beautiful drive. Unfortunately some hikes we wanted to do in these areas were closed from the wild fires so we only drove to Ouray which was an adorable town to explore near Telluride. Skiing is also a big deal here if you come in the winter, but PS Telluride is not included in the EPIC local pass. If you’re more of a water person you can kayak/SUP at Trout Lake or the San Miguel River.

I hope this guide to Telluride, the next Colorado mountain town you need to visit helps plan your next trip! If you’re looking for another mountain town check out my Steamboat Springs travel guide!

Stay Fearless,

Michelle Foster