Drive from Denver to Telluride

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It was a rather long drive from Denver to Telluride, especially with so many photo opportunities along the way. I hadn't seen this part of the state in the summer time, so I took full advantage. It was a good day for a drive in the mountains.

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Photos

View from Monarch Pass
Just off of highway 50 here.

Blue Mesa Reservoir
Just West of Gunnison on highway 50.

Ouray/Telluride Mountain Range
From a distance. This was on highway 550 just South of Montrose

On highway 62
Just West of Ridgeway on highway 62 going West

Welcome to Telluride!
With the nice Telluride Film Festival banner in front of an amazing backdrop, right down the main drag there, Colorado Avenue.

Creek
The gondola was running free all weekend, which was a great deal for the mountain bikers in the area. I guess with all of the money coming in from the film festival attendees from LA and NY, might as well not nickel and dime everybody and make the gondola run free all weekend.

Views abound everywhere
From in town. Will be quite interesting to hike up well above town and see what kind of views can be had from 12000+'.

Comments

[Terri]

time
Hi Doug YOur photos are beautiful. I am planning my first visit to Telluride for the Bluegrass Festival in June. Is it best to fly to Denver and drive from there?? I would enjoy the route you took but I am meeting friends from NY & NJ and they might not. Or is there a more convenient airport ?? I am coming from Miami and we have never been to Colorado before. Any tips re where to stay and how to get around during festival days once we arrive. Thank you Terri

[Doug Gschwind]

Just saw your comment
Hi Tipper, I just now saw your note. travelblog.com doesn't notify bloggers when people leave comments on the blog unfortunately, so when I logged in today I saw your note. Thank you for your comments, and I imagine that area is going to be just as beautiful in June, but I would expect snow to remain in plenty of areas in the higher elevations above town at that time. In any case, from the Denver International Airport to Telluride is going to be about a 7 hour drive, quite long. I would suggest you fly into Telluride yes, it will be very convenient. Other options would be Durango or Gunnison, but if you are going to fly to those, you might as well simply fly into Telluride. Regarding where to stay, Mountain Village is certainly newer buildings and decidely upscale. Rooms there can easily be $200/night and up from there. The gondola is free though, so if you do stay in Mountain Village, you can take the gondola for free back into town, its about a 10 minute ride, very convenient. However, I think there are more restaurant and bar choices in Telluride itself though. I don't think you can go wrong staying in either place (town or Mountain Village). Hope that is informative. Have a great trip! Doug