TELLURIDE Small-town with a Big Personality Written by Christy Waller of CW Luxury Travel There are ski resorts, and there are ski towns. Telluride is the latter. Here, you can spend days exploring the shops, eclectic cafés, gourmet restaurants, yoga studios, art galleries, and day spas that line Main Street. Chairlifts ascend the mountain from town, and you’ll see that they are a part of it, rather than an extension of it. You’ll see more bikes than cars and realize that lift lines are the exception rather than the rule. Telluride is a place of legend, nestled at the end of a lush canyon and surrounded by some of Colorado’s most rugged peaks. Nowhere else in the country, or perhaps the world, does such a place exist. To some, Telluride is known for its incredible alpine skiing. Everyone embraces the area for its authentic mountain character, unpretentious attitude, and celebration of four seasons of adventure in the Rocky Mountain high country’s most beautiful spot. The area is tucked into a box canyon surrounded by 13,000 and 14,000-foot peaks. The town of Telluride is just eight blocks wide and twelve blocks long. Because of its significant role in the American West’s history, Telluride’s core area was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1964. This listing is the highest level of historic 74 slmag.net
status available from the United States Secretary of the Interior. These sites are so unique that they are eligible for consideration to become national parks. With the town’s colorful Victorian-era homes, clapboard storefronts, boutiques, art galleries, gourmet restaurants, historic buildings, and more, Telluride is a delight to explore. The towns of Telluride and Mountain Village are linked by a spectacular, 13-minute ride on a free gondola—the first and only free public transportation system of its kind in the United States. This popular scenic attraction provides hiking and biking trails in the summer and the ski slopes in the winter. Passengers can load the gondola in either Mountain Village or Telluride and ride to the midway point (Station St. Sophia from which hiking, biking, and ski trails are accessed) and then continue to the other side. Deep powder. Endless runs. No lift lines. Blissful solitude. But it’s the views that will take your breath away! There are lots of places with snow. But there are no places quite like Telluride. As you click in atop Revelation Lift, stop to take in the moment. The valley floor lays nestled far below. Around you, the endless peaks of the San Juans encompass you in their jagged majesty. While under your feet, fresh
