Last weekend, dear friends of ours tied the knot in Telluride, Colorado. I had never been to Telluride before and had no clue what to expect. To be honest, I was pretty worried going into this trip because I suffer from altitude sickness easily. Telluride is 10,000 ft above sea level. I struggle in Denver which is 7,000 ft above sea level! Furthermore, I am not a skier. I do enjoy snowboarding, but I am still shredding at the beginner level. I decided it was probably best to opt out of making this a snowboarding trip for myself. Although this led to me being by myself the majority of the trip, I really enjoyed this city from a non-skier perspective and would love to go back!
Our friends have been going to Telluride for years. The information in this travel guide is a combination of their suggestions as well as mine.
Flying to Telluride
Fly into Montrose Regional Airport via United, American, Allegiant Air, or Delta.
Ground Transportation
The airport is an hour and a half away from Telluride. We booked a private ride, but if I were to go again I would take the shuttle. There is no need to rent a car unless you plan to venture outside of Telluride.
Shared Shuttle – Mountain Limo $48/person one way, they also offer private ride services starting at $318 one way
Rent a Car – Avis, Alamo, Hertz, and Enterprise are all available at the Montrose Airport. It is a 70 mile scenic drive to Telluride. FYI – the resort charges a daily parking fee. There is free parking on Pacific Street which is a short 15 minute gondola ride away from Mountain Village.
Where to Stay
The Peaks Resort – This is where the wedding was and where all of their guests stayed. Make sure to request an updated/remodeled room. It is a ski in/ski out resort with great pools and hot tubs, a spa, and game room.
Getting Around Town
The gondola links Mountain Village and the town of Telluride. It is a 15 minute ride with 365º views of the San Juan Mountains. It is free and operates daily from 7 am until midnight. The gondola is a brief 5 minute walk through the plaza from The Peaks Resort. If you don’t make it on the gondola before midnight, you will turn into a snowman. Haha. Joking, but not really. There is literally one taxi (not one taxi company, I’m talking one physical car) that you would have to hunt down to take you back up to The Peaks.
Where to Eat
Butcher and the Baker – This fresh and trendy cafe is perfect for a casual dinner. Everything we ordered was very tasty. We noshed on the cheese plate, cheese curds, fried cauliflower, and brussels sprouts for starters. I ordered the beet salad and a few oysters for my main meal. The beet salad was phenomenal. I’d also like to mention the cocktails at this place are made to perfection. I really enjoyed the whiskey sour.
Brown Dog Pizza – I’m not the biggest pizza fan, but the pizza at this establishment is excellent. We ordered the Detroit style Brooklyn pizza. It was amazing. Do not order Moscow mules here. They come in plastic cups and aren’t that great.
New Sheridan Chop House – The father of the groom hosted the rehearsal dinner at this beautiful restaurant. We had a pre-fixe menu to choose from, but honest to God, everything listed sounded incredible. It was hard to choose! I ordered the wild mushroom soup, the 15 0z prime New York strip steak, and the vanilla crème brûlée. I’d like to also mention that whatever rosé they had flowing was perfection as well.
Smugglers Brew Pub – I came to this restaurant for lunch on a whim. I was out and about exploring by myself and asked a local where I should dine. I assumed it would be pub style food, but I was pleasantly surprised with their menu. I ordered butternut squash soup and a beet salad. The presentation was beautiful and the bartenders were very friendly.
Things to Do
Hit the Slopes
This is the main attraction of things to do in Telluride. Unfortunately, I didn’t participate in this activity, but the photos that my friends were showing me were unreal. The snow capped mountains were so beautiful they looked fake!
Lift Tickets – T-Card or Mountain Collective
Ski Rentals – Black Tie Ski Rental (Must reserve two days in advance to secure online rates.) Free delivery to your accommodations, in-room fitting, slope side service, and kids rent free.
Ice Skate
There is a cute little ice skating rink located at the Madeline Hotel in Mountain Village. You can rent hockey skates or figure skating skates from Boot Doctors.
Relax at the Spa
The spa at The Peaks Resort is really nice. My first experience was within 5 minutes of being at the hotel. I dropped our bags off in our room and went straight back down to get an oxygen treatment to try my best to avoid altitude sickness. It was $40 for 30 minutes and I got to sit in this comfortable room with flavored water and magazines while connected to an oxygen machine. It was glorious. I went back the next day for a hot stone massage. I get massages frequently and without a doubt, this was the best massage I’ve had in a really long time.
Go Shopping
Burton – There are hardly any chain stores in Telluride, which I loved. However, I did pop in to the Burton store in Mountain Village and scooped up this amazing hooded neck warmer. This store had a lot of cool stuff and is worth checking out.
Heritage Apparel – I had a lot of fun shopping at Heritage Apparel in Mountain Village. The women working in the store were friendly and very in tuned to my style showing me pieces they knew I would love. This is a high end boutique, but they have amazing product. I just happened to step in on the day they were having an insane sale. It was 70% off all sale items and then I got to grab a chocolate out of a Christmas stocking that had a colored sticker on the bottom of it. The color represented the discount I would receive on full price items. I pulled 20%, not too bad… I wound up purchasing three tops and a gift for Chris for the 20% off, a dress for 70% off, and then negotiated a full price scarf down to 40% off. I get such a high off of good deals. Haha.
Try Recreational Marijuana (if you want)
I grew up in a small farm town in Illinois. I always joke that the town I grew up in is comprised of bars and churches. Telluride seems to be a town filled with restaurants and recreational marijuana stores. Being that recreational marijuana is illegal in Chicago, these are stores that I have never been in before. I decided to investigate and see what this craze is all about. Here is what I found out:
- They do not accept credit cards because they are Federally backed and the Feds still do not approve of recreational marijuana. Cash or debit cards only.
- They sell THC in different forms such as edibles, concentrates, and topicals. You can also purchase different strains. The brownies, chocolate bars, gummies, and chocolate truffles all seemed very intriguing.
- It is still illegal to consume marijuana in public in Colorado and it is illegal to take it out of the state.
- You must be 21 years or older to use or possess retail marijuana.
- Out of state residents may purchase up to 1/4 of an ounce per day.
Here are a few stores you can check out:
Delilah Telluride Medical Marijuana and Retail Marijuana
All in all, Telluride is a beautiful little mountain town tucked away from reality. I can see why our friends love it there so much.
Here is a picture of us at the wedding. The backdrop was absolutely stunning. My husband was the best man! Doesn’t he look handsome?
Have you ever been to Telluride? If so, I would love to hear about your trip! Leave me a comment below.
XO, Lauren
One of the few places in Colorado that I haven’t been to
Oh you’ve got to check it out! Definitely worth the trip.