Telluride for hubs’ 30th birthday
Last week Michael and I went to Telluride, CO to celebrate his 30th birthday, and both of us said it’s probably our #1 favorite trip we’ve taken all year. We’d both been to Telluride before – once together for a wedding, and then I went once with my family before Michael and I ever got married. This was the first time we’ve been together though, solely for the purpose of exploring the town and having a blast to celebrate Michael’s birthday. And that’s exactly what we did! We had such an amazing time here that we’ve even been dreaming of buying a place here one day haha (#dreambig). Today I wanted to share a Telluride travel guide with you all, in case you’re also thinking about planning a trip there! [Which, if you AREN’T thinking of planning a trip there…you probably should haha. It is MAGICAL. You’ll believe me by the end of this post!
Getting to Telluride
Telluride is about a 6-7 hour drive from Denver, so you have a few options on how you could get there. If you live in Colorado, you could make a road trip out of it. Michael and I weren’t feeling a 7 hour drive though so we decided to fly there! We flew Denver Air Connect out of DIA, directly into Telluride and it was SO convenient. You can also fly into Montrose (a slightly larger airport than Telluride – you’ll find more flight options into Montrose), and it’s about an hour and half drive to Telluride.
Where to stay in Telluride
We stayed at The Peaks Resort and I CANNOT recommend it enough! This was actually our second time to stay here (stayed here 5 years ago when we were here for a wedding) and it is such a beautiful hotel with AMAZING views. The Peaks is in Mountain Village. You are a very short walk from the gondola which will take you into town where there are tons of restaurants and shops. Staying in Mountain Village is nice though because it gives you better mountain views IMO, and you’re slightly separate from the noise + bustle of downtown! We loved staying in Mountain Village. AND the gondola is FREE so you can get to town super easy.
We loved staying at the Peaks because of the amazing views, the delicious food, and their incredible spa! The picture you’re seeing above was taken when we first checked in and had lunch out on the terrace! The food at The Peaks was so good and you also get to enjoy scenic mountain views. We also enjoyed their breakfast buffet one morning which I highly recommend!
Michael and I got a couples massage at the spa at the Peaks and it was AMAZING. Their spa facilities are also insanely nice – they not only had great amenities for both the men and women, but a huge co-ed area where you could enjoy the hot tub, indoor pool, steam room, and sauna with your boo! We used this almost every single day during our stay.
I also had a hydrafacial at the spa during our stay. The spa uses all Tata Harper products and my skin felt amazing after the hydrafacial!
Our room at The Peaks was so spacious, beautiful, and had stunning mountain views!
What to do in Telluride
There is SO MANY FUN things to do in Telluride y’all! We were there 3 nights and never ran out of things to do.
Hikes in Telluride:
- Bear Creek Trail – this is a 4.5ish mile trail that leaves right from town. That’s where the photos above were taken! This was a pretty easy trail with amazing views and a beautiful waterfall!
- Jud Wiebe Trail – we did this hike on our second day in Telluride and it is BEAUTIFUL. It’s only about 3 miles so I was thinking it would be pretty easy, but the elevation gain is pretty agressive! Still totally doable but just know the incline is STEEP getting up. But it’s gorgeous and has amazing views!
- There are a lot of other hikes you can do in Telluride, that don’t necessarily leave from town. So you might need to rent a car or get a jeep to take you to these two: Silver Lakes Trail & Blue Lakes Trail
Other things to do:
- We rented e-bikes from Boot Doctors and rode to Telluride Brewery! First of all, I WANT an e-bike now haha it was so fun to ride. But the bike ride to the brewery was also BEAUTIFUL! Gorgeous mountain + lake views on a really great bike path.The brewery was also in a cute little area and Michael loved their beer selection!
- Downtown Telluride has so many cute shops! My favorite store was Two Skirts – it’s literally like a brick & mortar version of Shopbop haha. They carry so many great brands and have an incredible Golden Goose selection! But there are also lots of other cute boutiques, stores like Patagonia, and fun stores to just browse!
- We also did a fall foliage jeep tour with Colorado 145 and I highly recommend doing this if you are in Telluride during the fall season. The leaves were absolutely beautiful and we also learned a lot about Telluride’s history! Our tour guide drove us up a mountain and we saw the most stunning mountain views + views of all of Telluride! We loved this experience. Photos from our jeep tour are below!
Restaurants in Telluride
Oh my goodness we were in food heaven during our Telluride trip. There are SO many amazing restaurants. We were here for 3 days and loved every meal we had. I already want to go back to try more restaurants haha!
- Breakfast – we loved Ghost Town and Butcher and Baker. Ghost Town is a cute little cafe / coffee shop feel, but great avocado toast and smoothies! Ghost Town has more breakfast options, but it’s still an “order at the counter” type of place. Had to wait in line for forever but it was worth the wait! I got the breakfast burrito and Michael got one of their breakfast sandwiches and we both loved our food! We also got a chocolate chip cookie and it was heavenly! Butcher & Baker place has lots of baked goods – I heard their carrot cake is also bomb. We loved both of these breakfast spots, but Butcher & Baker was definitely my favorite!
- Lunch – We went to Tacos Del Gnar after a hike for lunch and LOVED our tacos! We each got two tacos + chips & queso and we loved everything we got! I highly recommend this place. Tomboy Tavern was another lunch favorite!
- Dinner – we had the BEST DINNERS during our stay! Night #1 we went to Allred’s which you will see our view photoed below. GORGEOUS + dreamy mountain views from the restaurant! The food was good…I wouldn’t say the food was spectacular, but the views and atmosphere definitely make up for that haha. Even if you don’t get dinner here, definitely come to grab a drink and take in these views! Our second night (Michael’s birthday) we went to 221 South Oak and LOVED it! It’s in a little old refurbished house so it’s a really quant / cozy atmosphere and the food was so good. We tried their fried quail as an appetizer and it was delicious. Our last night we had dinner at The National and I think this might’ve been my favorite meal from the trip! I had a beef tenderloin as my entree and it was delicious. I also liked the vibe of this restaurant (romantic but still fun) and we had great service!
- Tons of people also recommended the restaurant There, which looks amazing! We didn’t have time to add in another restaurant but I wish we could’ve gone here because it looks so good and I heard great things!
The photo above was the view from our dinner at Allred’s!
My sister and her husband actually flew up to Colorado to keep Shiloh while Michael and I enjoyed a few days in Telluride, just the two of us! Of course we missed our angel SO MUCH, but we also had such a sweet time together, celebrating Michael’s birthday. Like I said in the beginning of this post, this was one of our favorite trips we’ve taken this entire year, and can’t wait to go back – hopefully in the winter for skiing!
Have you been to Telluride?! If so, comment your favorite things about it below! Thanks for reading!
xo Lauren
