Getting there

By air: Telluride has a small, weather-plagued airport 6 miles from town, served by United Express from Denver and America West Express from Phoenix. Montrose, 65 miles away, is where most visitors arrive, either by plane or by a weather diversion from Telluride. Continental has daily nonstop jet service to Montrose from Houston, four days a week from Los Angeles (daily during peak times) and on Saturdays from Newark. American Airlines offers daily nonstop jet service to Montrose from Dallas/Forth Worth and Chicago. United has daily jet service from Denver and often from other cities as well.

If you fly into the Telluride airport, no matter what the weather, pack a carry-on with enough essentials to get you through 24 hours. These small planes fill with people, then add as much luggage as they can safely transport. This is a sound policy, but it also means that your bags may be delayed. If you arrive without your bags, check with your airline to see if it will provide a voucher for rental clothing and gear at local sporting goods stores. Ways around the problem: 1) Fly to Montrose. The drive is farther, but you’ll have your bags with you. 2) Send your bags early via UPS or Federal Express to Mail Boxes Etc. in Telluride, which will arrange for your bags to be delivered to your lodging (inbound and outbound). Allow 10 business days for shipping. Call (970) 728-8111 for complete details.

Ground transport is provided by Telluride Express (970-728-6000), Mountain Limo (970-728-9606) and Alpine Luxury Limo (970-728-8750). Call 24 hours in advance for Montrose airport pickups.

By car: Telluride is 335 miles from Denver via I-70 west, and Hwys. 50, 550, 62 and 145. From the southwest, it is 125 miles from Durango via Hwys. 160, 184 and 145. From the Montrose airport head south on Hwy. 550 to Ridgway, then take Hwys. 62 and 145 to Placerville and Telluride.

Getting around: A car is unnecessary. The town is just 12 blocks long-you can walk anywhere. Bring boots with at least an ankle-high cuff. During warm spells, the snowmelt on the side streets can get quite deep. A free bus service runs in town and the free gondola makes the commute between town and the Mountain Village simple. If the gondola is not running, call Dial-A-Ride (970-728-8888) when you get to the base of the gondola in Mountain Village and a van will ferry you without charge to destinations in the Mountain Village.