Reasons to Visit Telluride, Colorado offers a beautiful four-seasons climate with plenty of fun activities and attractions to fill your time. No matter when you visit, you’re bound to find something to do or see that will keep everyone in the group happy and busy throughout your stay. Come in the winter for some of the best skiing and snowboarding in Colorado. Visit Telluride in the summer and celebrate some of your favorite things in the Summer Festival Capital of Colorado. We know you’ll have a list of your own reasons to come, and we have some additional suggestions to add to your already growing list.
1: Relaxation
The Gym
Some people aren’t completely relaxed until they’ve gotten their daily workout in. Telluride is a beautiful backdrop for outdoor exercise like hiking and biking, but you may prefer to get your steps or reps in at a gym. There are multiple gyms in the area where you can visit to make sure your workout stays on track. These gyms may also offer classes like yoga or Pilates to center yourself after a hard workout.
Spa Day
Get a vacation makeover during your Telluride retreat. Spend the day at any of the many spas of Telluride and the surrounding area and relax with massages, facials, body wraps or scrubs, mani/pedi treatments, and many other services. Choose your spa and your preferred services and make a package full or relaxation just for you. Select spas offer services just for them, including manicures, body treatments, and more, each created to meet his special needs.
2: Arts & Culture
Historic Telluride
The town itself is an attraction! The historic downtown area was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1964, due to its significant role in the history and development of the American West. Visit the town museum and learn about the town’s evolution from Ute tribe summer camp to the mountain ski mecca many enjoy today. Shop in stores and boutiques, many of which are housed in some of the original buildings that date back to the 1800s.
Sheridan Opera House
Built in 1913, the property started as a Vaudeville theater and cultural center for the people of Telluride. It’s now a hot spot for arts and cultural activities including live music, theater, recitals, lectures, and more. It can be rented out for private events, too. It’s run by the Sheridan Arts Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which helps restore and preserve the SOH and bring quality arts programs to the people of Telluride.
Music Festivals
Telluride is the self-proclaimed “Summer Music Capital of Colorado,” and there’s a long list of music festivals that help the town earn the title. Throughout the summer, settle in for the Sunset Music Series, featuring live performances of a variety of musical styles. June offers the Bluegrass Festival. Celebrate jazz and chamber music in August and wrap up the summer in September with the “Blues & Brews” Festival.
3: Adventures
Hiking
Get your exercise and a dose of fresh mountain air. Hiking is a great way to get out and enjoy much of the scenic landscape that surrounds Telluride. Enjoy the beauty as you wander along the myriad of nature trails to take you places your rental car can’t go. Stay prepared by taking trail essentials like water, sun protection, trail food, a first aid kit, and whatever else it is you need for a comfortable trek. Make sure to schedule your hikes a few days after you arrive, so you can get used to the thinner mountain air before any intense exercise.
Horseback Riding
Enjoy mountain vistas, and breathtaking, wide-open views, as you wander along the trails of the San Juan mountains. Rejuvenate your mind and spirit on a relaxing horseback ride that may take you to places you’ve never been. Choose from a guided afternoon ride through forests and meadows, overnight adventure. Add on the unique experience of a chuck wagon dinner and enjoy the meal before returning to Telluride.
Paragliding
Get your feet off the ground and your adrenaline pumping during your Telluride respite. Take to the skies on a paragliding experience over the Telluride valley. You’ll feel your adrenaline pumping while you get a breathtaking bird’s eye view from above. Try it out with a tandem experience, or if you’ve stretched a long vacation, sign up for lessons. Come back when there’s snow on the ground and try your hand at speed riding: an activity that brings you closer to the terrain below your feet to combine paragliding and skiing.
4: Tours
Food Tours
Take a delicious tour of Telluride! There are an array of restaurants offering delicious food and thirst-quenching drinks to warm you up and fill you up in anticipation of more Telluride fun and adventure.
Opt to take an organized tour that stops at various Telluride restaurants and bars, or plot your own course. If you choose an organized tour, the tour includes multiple stops, giving you the opportunity to enjoy the many and varied flavors the town has to offer. Keep in mind some stops may be 21+, and some foods or beverages may not be included in the price of the tour.
4×4 Fun
Roll down city streets or the highway, feeling the wind blow through your hair. There are a number of companies offering 4×4 tours around Telluride and through the less-accessible parts of trails you can’t get to on foot or by bike safely. If you’ve brought your pup on your Telluride vacation, select companies will allow them on the ride, too.
Gondola Rides
The famed Telluride gondola is waiting to give you a ride like no other during your Telluride vacation. The free gondola provides a 13-minute ride that includes the beautiful scenery of Telluride from over 10,500 feet on the way to outdoor activity trails, skiing, and snowboarding.
Load yourself and your gear onto the gondola in Telluride or nearby Mountain Village. Ride all the way to the top, or stop at the midpoint (Station San Sophia) for access to the trails. Operating hours are daily, 6:30 a.m. – midnight. The gondola is open through April 6, 2024. It will close for spring maintenance on April 7. Daily hours are 6:30 a.m. – midnight.
5: Activities
Winter Sports
While many locales across the country are experiencing a spring thaw, Telluride’s winter/snow sport activities remain in high gear through March and into April. The Telluride Ski Resort has some of the best slopes in the area, with runs appropriate for beginners all the way up to the most advanced skiers. Experts looking for some different ski experiences can explore the backcountry, or try helicopter skiing – where you jump from a helicopter and ski your way down the mountain.
Other interesting snow activities you can experience include cross-country skiing, dog sledding, snowmobiling, snow shoeing, ice skating, ice climbing, or the relaxation of a sleigh ride.
Telluride Adventure Center
If you’re looking for adventure and outdoor activity without heading up a mountain, stick close to town. The center is right next to the ski and snowboard school in Mountain Village, with a wide variety of activities to enjoy. Kids’ activities include “snow camp” where they’ll experience outdoor adventures, and “happy hour” – a craft and art activity in the craft room.
Adults can look forward to a snowbike course or snowshoeing. For those who are looking for an adrenaline rush, you can set up a heli-skiing excursion through the center.
6: San Miguel River
There are a variety of things to do and see along the water that runs through the heart of Telluride. Make sure one or all of them make your list of things to do while you’re here.
Fly Fishing
Set out for the river and a fly fishing excursion to remember. There are a number of public access sites along the river where you can cast a line. You’re likely to hook a variety of trout, cutbow, and more. You can pack your gear and head out yourself or tap one of the companies in the area for a guided excursion.
Rafting
If you love the adrenaline and challenge of snow sports in the winter, you’ll enjoy a day on the river rapids in warmer weather. The section of the river flowing through Telluride offers great conditions for the activity in the summer months. Rafters new to the activity may want to stick to the lower section oof the river and its Class II rapids. Those looking to make a bigger splash will want to tackle the constant Class II and intermittent Class III rapids of the upper section of the river.
Trips can be customized to a half-day, full day, or multi-day trip with overnight stay. It’s recommended children be no younger than eight years old for the lower section and ten for the upper section, regardless of skill level or experience.
Birding
While other members of your group may cast their eyes to the water for its many activities, you’re casting your eyes skyward. Bring your gear and keep your eyes peeled for black phoebes, yellow-breasted chat, indigo, lazuli buntings, black-headed as well as blue grosbeak, gray catbird, and more.
Kayaking & Paddleboarding
There are parts of the river that lend themselves to these more serene activities. Calmer waters allow for a slower pace so you can take in the surrounding sites like beautiful mountain vistas, towering trees, and more.
7: Shopping
You can pick up a souvenir at many of the attractions and adventures you’ll experience in Telluride. You may also want to do some shopping. While there are stores where you can score essentials like groceries, sunscreen in the summer and replacement skiing or snowboarding gear in the winter, you may want to pick up something special.
Stop by stores like Between the Covers Bookstore, Heritage – an apparel store for men, women, and children, Medicine Ranch for herbal and natural remedies and skin care, and many others. Some shops and boutiques are located in Historic Telluride, inside some of the original buildings of the town dating back to the 1800s!
8: Dining
There are a variety of dining options you can enjoy during your Telluride vacation. Restaurants offer a variety of delicious dishes, including baked goods, pizza, burgers, and more. Choose from fare like Italian, French, Mexican, Asian, and American for a taste bud tour of the world without leaving Telluride.
9: Weather
If your favorite kind of weather is snow and ice, we have it in the winter. If your favorite weather is the warmth and heat of the summer sun, we have that, too. Temperatures start on a steady ‘fall’ during the fall months, with averages in the high 60s down to the mid-40s for highs, and lows in the 30s and below. Winter “highs” only reach the mid-30s, and lows reach down into the single digits. It may be cold out, but it makes for the perfect conditions for your favorite snow sports.
It begins to warm in spring, with highs steadily climbing into the 40s and 50s and lows still in the 20s and 30s. We celebrate summer and its highs in the mid-70s and lows in the 30s and 40s with plenty of outdoor festivals and fun!
10: Accommodations with Lodging In Telluride
While think this reason should be the top of the list, we also want to make sure it’s the last thing on your mind as you continue to make your Telluride vacation plans. A vacation rental home with Lodging In Telluride means relaxation and rejuvenation 24/7 throughout your trip. Our rentals are private homes that have the cozy, private feel of your own home.
The Best Reason to Come to Telluride
After your day exploring the many amazing reasons to visit Telluride, come back to one of the other reasons you decided to come: cozy and comfortable accommodations provided by Lodging In Telluride.
We have a unit to suit your needs, from a cozy studio-style unit for a sweetheart getaway, all the way up to a six-bedroom unit for all your loved ones. Unwind in generous private bedrooms or soak away aches in a spacious shower or bathtub. Cook and serve a delicious home-cooked meal in fully equipped kitchen. When the meal is done, enjoy time in outdoor spaces, or curl up inside and gaze out at mountain views as you warm yourself by a crackling fire.