We visited Telluride in mid-October 2020, as part of Big Trip #3.

We were supposed to have two nights in Telluride, but we screwed up the dates and missed our first night, and our second night was the very last night the campground was open for the year. Too bad–we would have liked another day to explore, but we enjoyed the time we had in the neat little ski town! Its location in southwest Colorado make it a manageable drive from some of our favorite spots in southeast Utah (it’s 3.5 hours from Valley of the Gods, where we were last post).

Campground

The Telluride Town Park Campground is a real gem! The lovely no-hookups campground sits at the edge of town in an aspen grove, walking distance to everything. We heard it can get raucous during music festivals in Town Park, but it was peaceful when we visited. Well, peaceful until we cranked up our generator to get some warmth in our chilly tin can. Sorry, neighbors!

Hiking

Bear Creek Falls is a popular five-mile hike with trail access from the campground, so it was an easy choice for our one hike in town. Go early to miss the crowds! From the campground, go past the maintenance building and turn left at the ball field to find the trail. It’s a gradual climb up to the falls with mountain views, and if you’re lucky like we were in mid-October, lots of yellow aspens!

I mentioned our hike at Hovenweep in our last post; at over two hours’ drive from Telluride, it’s not necessarily somewhere you’d pop over to as a day trip. But if you pass it coming or going, it’s worth visiting.

Eating and Drinking

Telluride is super cute and dog-friendly! We walked up and down the main drag scouting Covid-friendly food and drink destinations. The brewery in town didn’t strike our fancy, so we skipped it. Here’s where we stopped, or tried to stop:

High Pie has a dog-friendly patio and a good local beer selection. I had a sour from Ska in Durango. The pizza smelled amazing but we didn’t stick around for dinner.

I think my favorite thing about Telluride was the gondola! It’s a free, super-scenic ride up to Mountain Village. We loved it. Some cars are pet-friendly, but Bugsy was snug in the Airstream at this point. The experience would have been perfect if Allred’s restaurant at the top had been able to accommodate us at the bar for a cocktail and snack, but the bar was closed due to Covid restrictions. Back down the mountain we went!

For dinner we landed at Cosmopolitan Telluride, at the foot of the gondola. The locally-focused food, the cocktails, and the service in our little heated cabana were all fantastic. The mid-October weather was borderline for dinner outside, but we had a blast roughing it. 😉

Telluride was a wonderful, if very brief, stop!

**A belated to-do list, after getting advice from our friends in White Salmon who love Telluride:**

• Ride the gondola at night to see the stars
• Get a library card to be able to check out all sorts of unusual items, including bikes and tennis rackets