We know that summer isn’t exactly on your mind right now, but it should be! Aside from late season snows, our member resorts are gearing up for their summer festivities and what a jam-packed summer awaits!
Telluride will begin their summer gondola operations on Thursday, May 23! That means that breathtaking views, awesome hikes, and great food are at your fingertips!
Let’s talk about the gondola for a little bit. Telluride’s gondola system provides free transportation between the town of Mountain Village and the town of Telluride. It’s the first and only free public transportation of its kind in the United States. From the town of Telluride at 8,750 feet, the gondola climbs 1,790 vertical feet before reaching Station St. Sophia at 10,540 feet. It’s a quiet 13-minute ride from town to town with breathtaking scenery and 360-degree panoramic views. Once the gondola opens, it will run 7 days a week! Sunday – Thursday: 6:30 a.m. – midnight. Friday & Saturday: 6:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.
In the winter and summer, the Gondola provides access to Allred’s Restaurant. Allred’s is Telluride’s flagship restaurant offering fine wines, hand-crafted cocktails and incredible views from the top of the Gondola.
In the summer, gondola cabins are converted with bike racks to provide free access to the Mountain Village Bike Park, and other mountain biking trails. There is also an extensive hiking trail system accessed from Station St. Sophia, as well as kids’ activities provided at the Nature Center.
The gondola has also adopted the state of Colorado’s Climate Action Plan to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by the year 2020. The plan called the Green Gondola Project, has a goal to replace 20 percent of its traditional electricity use with locally generated alternative energy. These local alternatives include solar panels installed on gondola stations and the purchase of solar panels through the SMPA Community Solar Array.
Pets are allowed in designated gondola cabins that are marked with paw prints. For loading, step aside until a pet-friendly cabin arrives and a gondola operator indicates that you can load the cabin.
