Going to Telluride

What to do in Telluride

by Evelyn Spence

Seeing Telluride’s colorful 2,000-foot box-canyon walls is breathtaking in any season. Winter dusts the red rock with white powder. September hillsides glow aspen gold. Summer’s sunshine and blue skies remind one of a cheesy ’60s pop song. Its people are just as colorful. Locals ride townie bikes, carrying skis over one shoulder and the leash to a chocolate lab in the other. There’s a row of cubbies in the middle of town to give/take ski gear, books, and clothes. And the mountains—whether you’re skiing, biking, or hiking them—are steep. “T-ride” boomed in the late 1800s thanks to gold and silver mining, busted, and was a near ghost town by 1950. The first chairlift went up in 1974, and Oprah and Tom Cruise followed. Still, the town is free of behemoth second homes and spa hotels. It’s just a bunch of down-home folk enjoying their view.

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