Apres Ski in Telluride
Telluride is an attractive mining town with small stores and galleries, historic charm, and mountain spirit; younger sister Mountain Village has luxury hotels, stylish boutiques and a few, select eateries.
Downtown Telluride (Photo Credit: Telluride Resort)
The ski resort of Telluride is divided into two separate and distinct towns, Victorian-era Telluride and the modern Mountain Village.
Just eight blocks wide and twelve blocks long, and at a base elevation of 8,750 feet (2,668 m), the town of Telluride offers visitors restaurants, bars, small stores and galleries, historic charm, and mountain spirit. Just over the ridge-via Station St. Sophia at 10,535 feet (4,027 m)-lies the Mountain Village at 9,540 feet (2,910 m), which is a 92-acre (37-ha) purpose-built condo-dominated alpine enclave with luxury hotels, stylish boutiques and a few, select eateries. You won’t find fast-food outlets, strip malls and chain stores in either Telluride or Mountain Village, and there is no need for a car as everything is within walking distance.
The main town and the resort are connected by a free gondola-roughly a 13-minute up-and-over-ride – and it’s open from 7:00 am to midnight. As well as fine restaurants, Mountain Village also has a bank, post office, a market, antiques, galleries, jewelry, and gift stores. Telluride’s bed base is not large enough to create lift lines, and because Telluride is a destination resort, it is not bombarded by day traffic. Wide-open slopes and no lift lines are the norm.
Après-Ski Bars & Nightlife in Telluride
There are around 20 bars in Telluride, including the historic New Sheridan Bar and swank, hip Blue Point’s Noir Bar.
There are around 20 bars and many more restaurants, and after a day on the slopes, locals and visitors can be found enjoying a late afternoon drink in many of Telluride’s favorite après spots, such as The Wildflower or Leimgruber’s for beer, or sipping a margarita at Swede Finn Hall.
After hours Telluride veers more to quiet sophistication and family-friendly restaurants. Cocktail hour at the historic New Sheridan Bar, with a turn-of-the-century hand-carved wood bar and a billiards room, has a great social atmosphere and is located on Main Street. A new cool venue is Blue Point’s Noir Bar, a swank and hip martini bar, replete with leather sofas, faux fur bench seats, and leopard-print spotted carpets. For those who prefer a drink in a quiet and cozy place, Allred’s and the New Sheridan Bar are also great hangouts.
Restaurants in Telluride
Telluride and the Mountain Village have about 60 restaurants between them, including Allred’s on top of the mountain.
Between them, the town of Telluride and the Mountain Village have approximately 60 restaurants and several of them, including The Cosmopolitan, Harmon’s, Rustico Ristorante (for Italian wines), Campagna, and Allred’s, are noted for their wine lists. Nestled on top of the mountain and accessible only by the gondola, Allred’s gives diners spectacular views of the massive peaks that frame Telluride.
For the late-night younger set there’s live music at Fly Me to the Moon Saloon, the only nightclub in town. The bars in Telluride and the Mountain Village close at 1:30 am.
The nightlife in Mountain Village tends to shut down a little earlier than in the village, but there are a few places worth frequenting. The Hop Garden serves up a variety of German beers in a relaxed atmosphere. With good beer, dart boards, and the best pretzels we’ve had anywhere, you might just find yourself spending more time here than you thought.
Other Activities in Telluride
Telluride has plenty of spas offering relaxing massage, saunas, and steam rooms, plus an amazing variety of shops.
The new Station Recreation in Telluride offers nighttime tubing in the Mountain Village. You can also take a spin around the ice or even join in a hockey or broomball game at the ice skating rink. Ice climbing, indoor climbing, Nordic skiing, and sleigh rides are available and there are snowmobiling, snowshoeing and dogsled tours too. If none of that appeal, or if you need to soothe those aches and pains, the resort has plenty of spas offering relaxing massage, saunas, and steam rooms-Condé Nast Traveler magazine put Telluride in its Top Five for pampering. For shopaholics, the variety of the stores is amazing for such a tucked-away resort and includes boutiques, clothing stores, sports stores, art galleries, and bookstores with coffee shops.
The best place to rent or buy ski equipment is Telluride Sport, with six locations between town and Mountain Village each providing ski and snowboard equipment. Easy Rider Sports and Slopestyle are must-stop shops for board enthusiasts, and Jagged Edge Mountain Gear, Paragon Ski & Sport and the Telluride Mountaineer all offer a variety of outdoor gear and equipment. Also, Boot Doctors is a great place for custom boot fitting, and rental ski equipment.