San Miguel River leading to the Telluride box canyon

It takes about an hour to get to Telluride from Ridgway. It’s a very scenic drive up over the Dallas Divide and then down Route 145.  A two lane winding canyon road following the San Miguel River that leads up to Telluride. Telluride sits in a box canyon and there’s only one road in and the same road out.

The setting is dramatic. The north and south canyon walls are wooded and lush green. They’re also steep. So steep it seems like you can reach out and touch them. The south wall has a ski area where you can ski right down to the town and then take the free gondola back up to Mountain Village.  On the east end is a wall of white capped mountains with the famous Bridal Veil Falls cascading down in the center. God deserves an “atta boy” when he made this place. It’s just spectacular and better than the scenery in many National Parks.

West Colorado Avenue Telluride facing Bridal Veil Falls

I’m not sure I can write much about Telluride that hasn’t already been written. Founded as a mining town in the 1870’s, they thought there was gold in them thar hills but it turned out to more more gold type ore, zinc, lead, copper, and silver. The town has a historic district but it’s become a very upscale resort type of place where there’s a lot crammed into this small narrow place.

Skiing is the big attraction in the winter. During the summer and fall, there are numerous festivals held in Telluride. There are several music, art, and film festivals that attract the best artists in each field. As a bluegrass music fan, I know the Telluride Bluegrass Festival is famous and one of the best in the country.  Mountain biking, rafting, hiking, and off road touring are also big in Telluride.

Town Park in Telluride

Gondola up to Mountain Village

Telluride seems to attract a younger more upscale 1% type of crowd. Tom Cruise, Jerry Seinfeld, and Oprah have homes here. The Telluride Film festival attracts several A listers from Hollywood. Most of the people I saw were attractive, appeared to be well-heeled, well groomed, and wearing nice clothes that fit perfectly.  It reminded me of how the people in East Hampton on Long Island looked. I was only there for only two hours, but saw no working men in dirty Carharts or with dusty hats, no retirees in old odd fitting clothes, and only a couple people of color.

Old buildings now housing boutiques and art galleries

Visiting Telluride in an RV can be a challenge bordering on the impossible. Parking is very limited even for cars. Forget about trying to drive through town or parking on a side street. There are two small public parking lots on the southern end of town just as you enter Telluride.

I was lucky to find a spot to park my 26 ft Class C motorhome in Lot B off Mahoney Drive. It was early on a weekday, with a lousy weather forecast, and early in the season which helped.  My RV can fit into the width of a regular car space and I was lucky to find two opened front to back. A Class B or small Class C could park here but forget it if you’re towing anything or have a Class A. Also, there’s no overnight parking for RV’s in Telluride.

But, if you’re lucky to find a spot, there is a free shuttle from these lots to the town center. The shuttle runs every 20 minutes and will make stops through the town. The shuttle is called The Goose and you just have to look for a Goose sign to see where the stops are.

San Miguel County Court House in Telluride

We visited for just a day to see what it was like. I would have liked to stay longer and explore a bit more but my son’s back was acting up which limited his walking. A ride on the gondola up to Mountain Village would have been nice to do or walk to the end of town. Our visit was also cut short because it started raining shortly after we arrived and the mountains disappeared behind shrouds of fog and mist.

Cav “ingesting” liquid brewed back pain meds at the Brown Dog in Telluride

Oh well. I was happy to have seen Telluride. It’s not really an RVing type of place but rather an upscale resort type of place that caters to its residents and well-heeled visitors.  It’s worth visiting just to see the scenery and some beautiful people.