Gondola Ride from Telluride to Mountain Village

In my last blog post, I showed you some views of the beautiful town of Telluride, located in the San Juan Mountain region of SW Colorado. My daughter and family, and my husband and I rented a house in nearby Ridgway during Thanksgiving week in November. On a visit to the nearby town of Telluride, we decided to take the free gondola ride up to Mountain Village. It was hard not including a lot of photos in this blog post, so grab a cup of something warm and a wool blanket and come along with us on a thrilling gondola ride!  (All photos and photo collages in this post will enlarge for easier viewing if clicked on)

The gondola, the first and only free public transportation of its kind in the United States, officially opened on December 20, 1996, and serves as both a lift for skiers and snowboarders and as public transportation for locals and visitors.  It was originally built to help improve air quality while expanding the ski area.

As we ascended on the gondola the historic town of Telluride began to get smaller...

...and smaller.

Running daily, between 7 AM and Midnight, summer and winter, the 13-minute gondola ride eliminates 20 minutes, eight-mile car ride between towns.  The views are spectacular to see as you slowly glide up the mountain.

The town of Telluride is at an 8,750-foot elevation. The gondola climbs 1,790 vertical feet before reaching Station St. Sophia, at 10,540 feet.

Telluride looks very far away!

As one gains elevation, Saint Sophia Ridge comes into view above the town. Mears Peak, Dallas Peak, Gilpin Peak, Mt Emma, and Chicago Peaks, all at 13,000 feet and above come into view.

 Higher...

...and higher, we climb.

Passing through Station St. Sophia...

Station St. Sophia is the midpoint of the gondola ride and one can exit here to the slopes, hiking trails, or Allred's Restaurant.

We continued on the gondola ride toward Mountain Village.

We enjoyed all the glorious 360-degree views!

Around 50 percent of the gondolas are pet accessible, and there are even some that have wheelchair-accessible cabins. The gondolas have ski and snowboard racks in winter and mountain bike racks during the summer.

Approximately 2.25 million people ride the gondolas annually, and an estimated 35 million have been safely transported since its opening day!

Descending down towards the first stop in the Mountain Village area.

Mountain Village is nestled in the heart of the majestic San Juan Mountain Range and consists of hotels, resorts, lodges, condos and homes, shops, and restaurants.

The ski slopes vary from easy double greens to the treacherous double black diamonds at the top of Coonskin Ridge, Gold Hill, and Palmyra Peak.

Majestic mountains were all around us!

The gondola continued on to more stops within Mountain Village.  Our granddaughter was enthralled by the views below.

Our trip was taken in November and by now these slopes would be well covered with deep snow!

We stopped at another area of Mountain Village called "The Beach" and walked around to see this beautiful location which contains many beautiful plazas and one of the best hotels in Telluride-- the Four-Diamond Hotel Madeline. The bronze statue in the photo collage above is titled "Wind Spirit" by sculptress Judy Nordquist  It embodies the Telluride Mountain Ute tribe. The Utes were native Colorado Indians that lived for centuries in the high Rocky Mountains.

After spending some time in Mountain Village we returned to the gondola ride, but this time went back towards historic Telluride.

Toward the end of the 13-minute ride, we saw the town appear below. The gondola is open 275 days a year and closed for maintenance in spring and fall. 

We all definitely enjoyed our trip on the gondola and all the wonderful views we saw along the way. It is a memorable way to visit Mountain Village and see the ski slopes and attractions in the area.

The moon was rising over our view of the Cimmaron Range when we returned to Ridgway. The next day we were going to visit the town of Ouray and take a drive up the Million Dollar Highway into the area known as the "Switzerland of America." Join me in my next post where you will see those spectacular views!