Michael and I went to Telluride, CO last year for his birthday (end of September) and it instantly became one of our all time favorite places on earth. I did a blog post last year recapping our recommendations + favorite things that you can find here! We went back to Telluride a few weeks ago to join my parents for the tail end of their month long CO trip, and tons of y’all were asking me for a Telluride travel guide. Everything I shared last year would still be accurate today. But, we did a few new things with my parents this trip so I thought I’d share details on that, as well as where we stayed!
We stayed in the most beautiful rental property that I found through Vacasa. You guys know how much we love using Vacasa when we travel. They have properties literally around the world that are all extremely well-managed, very clean, and super easy to reserve / check in / check out etc. We’ve always had the best experience with Vacasa, no matter where we booked them! (Breckenridge, Florda, Telluride and more).
This house we stayed in in Telluride was honestly so beautiful that it was hard to leave haha. It was a stunning log cabin tucked away into the mountains. Very quiet and private and the inside felt cozy and luxurious all at the same time.
We stayed at this house with the two of us + Shiloh, and my parents, and it was MORE than enough space for the 5 of us. You could easily stay at this house with 3 couples! All bedrooms had an incredible view of the mountains, the kitchen was stocked with spices / cooking essentials / coffee, and we used the hot tub almost every night during our stay! The house also had a pack and play for Shiloh which was SO nice, so we didn’t have to travel with ours!
The house was an easy 2 minute drive to the gondola, which is free and can take you either into downtown telluride or mountain village, where there are tons of shops, restaurants, etc. We really liked the location of the house because you had amazing views + a quiet neighborhood where we went and walked almost everyday and looked at the amazing houses nearby!
As far as an updated Telluride travel guide (make sure to see this post for my OG Telluride travel guide post! All of my faves are there)…there were a few new places we tried with my parents that I definitely recommend!
- Cosmopolitan for happy hour and/or dinner! – their dinner menu is kind of pricy but happy hour prices are SO reasonable and our sushi + cocktails were SO good! My parents went there like 3 times during their telluride stay haha. We also ordered a few items from the main dinner menu that were fantastic as well! But, definitely take advantage of their happy hour prices!
- Brown Dog Pizza – this was probably in my OG Telluride travel guide because it’s some of the BEST pizza we have ever had! They do Detroit style pizza and it was so good that Michael and I also ate it for breakfast the next day lol. I highly recommend the Brooklyn Bridge and the Italian pizzas!
- Baked in Telluride – a huge bakery with TONS of treats like donuts, cookies, banana bread etc and EVERYTHING we tried was delicious!
- There – this was a restaurant we didn’t get to try our last trip that Michael and I tried for a date night one night. The food was SO good! IMO, I’d suggest it more for a ‘drinks and apps’ type place vs dinner bc the plates are pretty small. But everything we ordered was delicious!
Luckily, my mom loves hiking as much as I do! So she had found some great hikes for us to do together before we got there. Hiking with a toddler is a whole nother beast lol so we did one hike with Shiloh, and then my mom and I did one hike just the two of us! We also all walked on the bike path / river walk that’s right in town in telluride! It’s not really a hike because it’s all flat, just along the river. Btu still SO beautiful and especially great if you have kiddos, or want to go for a run!
These were the two hikes we did:
- Breckenridge trail loop – this was the hike we took Shiloh on! It’s a little over 3 miles and I’m pretty sure it’s rated easy! The elevation gain was very moderate but you still get really beautiful views! The start of this hike is close to the Telluride airport!
- Wilson Meadows Trail to Lizard Head – this was the hike my mom and I did together (where alot of these photos were taken) and it was beautiful! It was around 6 miles and I think it’s ‘moderate’. I thought the elevation gain though felt extremely reasonable / doable, and the views of the lake were incredible!
Make sure to check my first Telluride blog post for other hiking recommendations!
The picture above was taken in Mountain Village! We got dinner at The Village Table (which, TBH was not great haha), then got ice cream in the courtyard and just walked around, listened to live music…and it was magical! Mountain Village really does have a lot to offer, in addition of course to downtown Telluride.
Have you guys been to Telluride? If so, let me know any of your favorite restaurants / hikes / things to do in the comments below! It really is one of our favorite places on earth, and I actually dream of owning a house there one day! So incredibly beautiful and such an amazing place to just unplug, be in nature, and savor time with family.
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What’s next on your travel bucket list?! We are heading to Charleston in about a week for Michael’s birthday and we’ve never been! I love exploring new cities with my love and I’ve heard such amazing things about Charleston.
Thanks for reading!
xo Lauren
