Telluride Family Travels
Thinking of traveling to Telluride but not sure if it's worth the trip or where to begin? I've got you covered.
We love to go to Telluride in the summer. We are often asked why we like it so much and what is there possibly to do in a ski town in the summer? Well, let me tell you...
Getting There
We drive to Telluride from Phoenix. Total it's about a 7.5 hour drive. We have 2 kids and have learned to break the drive up a bit. We drive 2 hours to Flagstaff and take a pit stop at Thorpe Park and let the kids play on the playground for a bit. We then grab coffee and amazing churro donuts at Tourist Home Cafe, finally get gas and head to our next stop, Kayenta. Kayenta is about 2.5 hours from Flagstaff. We stop here to grab lunch and get out of the car for a bit. We typically end up at the McDonalds since they have a large indoor playground and our kids get excited to finally get a happy meal but I will warn you Kayenta isn't much of a town but has a few fast food places that make it a great place to stretch your legs. We then only have just over 3 hours until we are in Telluride. We have been known to stop for a sweet treat and gas either in Cortez or Dolores prior to arriving in Telluride but not always.
Flying to Telluride is an option too. You could fly into the Montrose airport and then take a 65 mile drive to Telluride. Flying is definitely the quickest and easiest option. We are lucky to be able to drive from Phoenix so we don't need to rent a car and it allows us to bring a couple of meals, lots of snacks, drinks, water and bikes with us.
Where to Stay
There are so many great places to stay in Telluride. You would first need to decide if you want to stay in the town of Telluride or on the other side of the mountain in Mountain Village. They both have pros and cons.
If you stay in Telluride you have a short walk to all of the stores and restaurants. We haven't personally stayed in town as it seems to cost a little more and there are fewer larger homes to stay in. Plus I like the cabin in the woods feel vs. city feel however staying in town allows you to be right along the river, close to the park, playground and hiking. I also prefer the grocery store in the Telluride vs. Mountain Village.
Staying in Mountain Village can be wonderful, especially in the summer. It is just a short, beautiful gondola ride from the town of Telluride. The gondola is free (although it does close in October so check your dates), easy to use and provides a spectacular view of town. We often look for wildlife as we ride into town. We have stayed at the Madeline Resort a few times. The location is amazing. In the summer they have a lawn with yard games where they show movies in the evening, fire pits, a Starbucks and summer concerts just around the corner oh and I can't forget the pool. The view from the pool and hot tubs is outstanding. You can walk to a few restaurants from here but none that were amazing (at least to us) but you can easily walk to the gondola and ride it into town to eat. The Madeline does offer larger condo style rooms with kitchens which I would LOVE to try out but they are typically priced outside of our budget. We have only stayed in a 2 queen bed room and while it's nice and works great for a couple of nights, it doesn't become a little crowded for the four of us during a longer stay.
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| Pool at the Madeline |
We have also rented through VRBO in Mountain Village and really enjoyed it. It was so nice to have an entire house where we could cook and have access to a private hot tub, be able to do laundry, plus the kids each had their own space. The VRBO - Eureka House was located across the street from the market in Mountain Village. We were nervous about having to take 2 (free) gondolas to get into the town of Telluride but it ended up not being an issue at all and would do it all over again. It was so convenient to walk off the gondola, step right into the grocery store and walk back to our VRBO to cook dinner. There are some newer homes/townhomes/condos in this area and sometimes you can get a little more for your money without having to sacrifice much for location and trust me, you don't sacrifice at all on the views either.
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| Balcony of the Eureka House |
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| Eureka House |
What to Do
If you love the outdoors you will never be bored in Telluride. Since we have 2 kids ages 6 & 8 everything we do is kid friendly.
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| View from behind the Cornet Falls |
Hike to Cornet Falls - These are waterfalls you can hike to right in the middle of town. You may even see the falls as you are riding the gondola. We did this hike in May and it was a favorite among our kids because there was still a large pile of ice behind the waterfall they could go play on. The trailhead is at the north end of Aspen street but you will need to park in town or just walk from town or the gondola. It's only a quarter of a mile hike (probably why the kids enjoyed it) but it is a relatively steep and narrow hike so keep your kids nearby and don't let them wonder off too far (I am overly cautious at times).
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| Top of Bear Creek Falls |
Hike Bear Creek Trail - This is a very popular and kid friendly trail. It is nice and wide so it's great to do with friends and family as you can easily walk together. It's just less than 5 miles to go out and back and there are beautiful waterfalls at the top. We would always do a portion of the trail and turn around each time we went to Telluride until our kids were finally old enough to complete the entire hike on their own. We always love to pack a lunch for this hike and eat it at the top near the falls.
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| Along the Bear Creek Trail |
Town Park - The town park can be fun for the entire family. It's a great place to bring a picnic. There are two fun playgrounds for the kids, one is for smaller kids and a larger playground for older kids. There is also a pond where you can borrow a fishing pole and fake bait supplied at the park and do some fishing. There are also baseball fields, a skate park and a pool that's open during certain hours in the summer. The river runs through a portion of the park as well and my kids could stand here and pick up rocks all day here.
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| Gondola Ride |
2019 Festival Dates
Mountainfilm, May 24-27
Balloon Festival, May 31-June 2
WOW Festival, June 6-9
Art + Architecture Weekend, July 16-22
Telluride Bluegrass Festival, June 20-23
Telluride Wine Festival, June 27-30
The Ride Festival, July 12-14
Jazz Festival, August 9-11
Telluride Film Festival, Labor Day Weekend 2019
NEW for 2019! Telluride Reserve Food & Wine Festival, August 15-18
Telluride Blues & Brews, September 13-15
Where to Eat
Brown Dog - You can not go to Telluride and not eat at Brown Dog Pizza. Hands down the best Detroit style pizza you will ever have. They have a Pac Man arcade game upstairs that kept our kids busy so we could enjoy our dinner. They also have a great beer selection with flights available.
Telluride Brewing Co. & Aemono Fine Foods - Favorite places, we can't go here just once. We LOVE the Telluride Brewery and while they don't serve food you can grab a delicious beer and then a delicious meal at Aemono Fine Foods. Seriously the best food and drink combo. You will thank me later.
The Phoenix Bean - This place has an amazing BLT and the coffee is good too. I need to get back to try some other options as everything looked delicious.
Coffee Cowboy - This is almost a daily visit for me for delicious coffee in the morning or afternoon.
Gnar - This place was extremely busy when we went as it was very new and the location is so convenient to the gondola. I would say the tacos were good but it was so difficult to find a table for a group in the restaurant that it put a damper on the experience for us. The rest of my party didn't enjoy it enough to want to go back on our next trip.
Allreds - This is the restaurant with the best views (so we here). It's located at the top of the gondola between Telluride and Mountain Village. We haven't actually eaten here as we weren't sure the price was worth it and if it would be a great experience with kids. If you've dined here please share your experience. I would love to hear about it.
The Butcher & The Baker - This is a great spot for coffee, breakfast and lunch. I enjoyed the food but the service was lacking a bit. I've been there multiple times and multiple times the employees seemed to be less than thrilled to be working there. I do love the atmosphere and Main Street location.
Baked in Telluride - I have heard this place is up for sale so I'm curious to see what's going to happen. It's not the most amazing food but it's quick and easy and a great stop before or after a hike. The kids love the donuts and cookies. My husband enjoy the egg and cheese stuffed croissants.
Tomboy Tavern - The food and service were just ok for the price. We definitely paid for convenience here as we were staying in Mountain Village and running out of different food options. The kids (and adults) were too tired to take the trip to town for dinner so we thought we would enjoy the patio here. If it was half the price it would be worth it but it was just too pricey for ok food.
Ghost Town - I struggle with this place. They have an AMAZING avocado toast! I loved it and would've eaten it every single day if it hadn't been for the crazy long wait. We waited in line to order which wasn't bad at all but then we waited, and waited, and waited for our food. It's just toast but there was literally one person making the toast so it took forever and caused us to never go back.
SHHHHH....Telluride has a speakeasy, The Tunnel - If you have been you NEED to tell me about it! We haven't been able to go because we are always traveling with our children and don't have a babysitter. This place is supposed to be AMAZING! It's a table with only 10 chairs providing an intimate dining experience, a trend I wish more restaurants would embrace. The menu changes every 2 weeks and is supposed to be so creative and unique offering a 6 course meal. I think it's kind of fun to not even look ahead to what's being served and enjoy the surprise because you know it's going to be a good one. Please, please, please check this place out for me.
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