About Telluride
Telluride is a rare beauty indeed- unbeaten, culturally astute and fantastically diverse. Telluride not only boasts some of the best skiing in Colorado, it is also dubbed the "Festival Capital" of the Rockies. Once a numerous and nomadic people, the Utes were the first visitors to the Telluride valley. Making their summer camps along the San Miguel River, they hunted in the surrounding mountains for elk, deer and mountain sheep. The town of Columbia was established in the Telluride valley in 1880. With the coming of the railroad in 1890, the town flourished and Telluride's population soared to 5,000. The town boasted all the amenities of a thriving community plus saloons, gambling and a much-heralded red-light district. The wealth of Telluride attracted the likes of Butch Cassidy and his "Wild Bunch", who began their brazen bank robbing career at the San Miguel National Bank in 1889.
When the snow flies, the summer might seem far away. Nonetheless, when it does arrive, Telluride's summer season is filled with a wide range of events and activities. As outdoor enthusiasts shaped Telluride's winter scene, artists and culture lovers nurtured a vibrant and diverse array of summer festivals, and Telluride evolved into a year-round resort. Today, Telluride's population is less than half of what it was during its mining heyday; it is now estimated at 2,000 residents. Miners have been replaced by (or have become) skiers and festivals have grown up and improved, but Telluride's history is intact. Look around. Whether you stumble across an old mining shack in the forest or scale a rugged peak to obtain a majestic view, you'll find that Telluride's mountains are still full of riches, and that the spirit of the Old West remains.
