Telluride Ski Resort Review
Telluride Ski Resort Review
Telluride Ski Resort Website: https://www.tellurideskiresort.com/
Aspen Highlands Ski Resort Trail Map
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)
Summary: Telluride Ski Resort is the gem of the southern mountains in Colorado. Located in the San Juan Range, Telluride is compared to a European ski town and the mountain offers world class terrain. Whether you are looking for groomers, steep bowls or gnarly colouirs, Telluride Ski Resort has everything a skilled skier or snowboarder could ever want.
Parking: Telluride Ski Resort has 9 (NINE!) different parking lots to choose from. Four lots are free (1,4,8 and 9) with 5 other lots that have partial free parking but paid time after that. In my opinion, the best lots to park in are either 8 or 9 which are located in the town of Telluride and are seconds away from either a lift or gondola. View the parking map here.
Season Pass: As of the 2018-2019 Season, Telluride Ski Resort is part of the Epic Pass on a limited basis. Find out more information here.
Strengths:
- Tons of free parking in convenient locations
- Small crowds on most weekends
- Reasonable lift ticket price
- Lots of hike to and expert terrain
- Variety of dining options on the mountain
- In my opinion, the best mountain top views in Colorado
- Easy to get from one lift to another
- Little to no traffic accessing the resort
Weaknesses:
- Not a ton of beginner terrain
- Long hikes to access some of the steepest terrain (tough to do multiple hikes if you only have one day on the mountain)
- Hours away from major airport (you can fly into Telluride or Montrose, but both are not reasonable for the average skier or snowboarder).
- Telluride Ski Resort is located in Class A avalanche terrain. What does that mean? Even with lots of snow, expect terrain to be closed on your trip to Telluride. Class A terrain is the most prone to avalanches and Telluride has to be extra precautious after any new snowfall before opening terrain up to the public. If you have limited time at the resort, this might be a bummer if you are looking to access hike-to terrain.
Mick’s Tip: If you are not looking to spend a ton of money on lodging, my tip would be to stay in either Montrose or Ridgeway where you can get much more reasonable prices. On the mountain itself, head up to lift 15 for the best views or head to lift 12 for some of the best stashes of powder even with no recent storms. If you are an advanced skier or snowboarder, check out the Black Iron Bowl, Gold Hill Chutes or Palmyra Peak hike for some of the steepest terrain in Colorado.
Best Views: To be honest, you can’t really go wrong with the views at Telluride Ski Resort. To the west you have views of 14ers Mt Wilson, Wilson Peak and El Diente Peak. To the east you have views of the icon box canyon that surrounds Telluride. Always looming over you is the 13,000+ foot mountain Palmyra Peak. The views here are amazing and for me, the best I have seen at any Colorado Ski Resort hands down. To get the best views, take lift 6, 14 or 15 to the top and soak it all in!
Photos From Telluride Ski Resort
*All reviews are 100% my opinion based on experience and knowledge about the mountains. Opinions are just that and not everyone will agree with my ratings about all mountains. I snowboard and pay for every lift ticket.