North America
Telluride
For 2026-27, Telluride is on the Epic Pass (7 days). Lifts run from 8,725 ft (2,659 m) to 13,150 ft (4,008 m), a vertical drop of 4,425 ft (1,349 m) across 2,000 acres, with about 280 inches of snow a year.
Telluride rises straight out of a historic mining town boxed in by 13,000-foot San Juan peaks, giving it the most dramatic scenery of any Colorado resort. A free gondola connects the Victorian-era town with the modern Mountain Village, and the terrain runs from long, gentle cruisers to hike-to extremes off 13,150-foot Palmyra Peak, all far enough from I-70 that lift lines are rare.
Ski passes at Telluride, 2026-27
| Pass | Access | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Epic Pass | Access: 7 days | Only the full Epic Pass (and Epic Adaptive Pass) gets up to 7 days; Epic 4-7 Day passes with All Resort Access can spend their days here. Epic Local, Epic 1-3 Day and Epic Military passes do NOT include Telluride. No reservations needed since 2025-26, but the My Epic mobile pass is not accepted - bring the physical Epic card. After the 7 days, Epic Pass holders get up to 50% off the window rate. |
Not on the Ikon Pass, Mountain Collective or Indy Pass this season.
Telluride has never been on the Ikon Pass. It was on the Mountain Collective (2 days) for 2016-17 and 2017-18, then left in 2018 to become the Epic Pass's first independent destination partner (7 days on the full Epic Pass), a deal that has run every season since, including 2026-27. It is independently owned by Chuck Horning, not by Vail Resorts.
Telluride Ski Resort sells its own unlimited season pass ($2,200 adult 25+ in 2025-26; 2026-27 price not published in a fetchable form) plus 6-day and 10-day passes and the T-Card; the winter pass sale deadline is November 8, 2026 (up to 30% off).
Lift ticket prices
Peak walk-up adult day ticket, 2025-26: $326. Same-day window tickets were $286 regular and $326 peak holiday in 2025-26; buying online in advance is cheaper, and Epic Pass holders get up to 50% off once their 7 days are used.
Terrain Breakdown
Telluride elevation, altitude and mountain stats
Peaks and base areas
| Peak | Peak: Top of hike-to terrain (Palmyra Peak ridge / Gold Hill)The resort's quoted top elevation; reached by bootpack, gives the 4,425 ft total vertical. | 13,150 ft (4,008 m) |
| Peak | Peak: Palmyra Peak (true summit)Hike-to only; the resort describes its north face as almost 2,000 vertical feet of expert terrain. | 13,320 ft (4,060 m) |
| Peak | Peak: Top of Revelation Lift (highest lift-served point)Derived: 8,725 ft base + 3,845 ft lift-served vertical. | 12,570 ft (3,831 m) |
| Peak | Peak: San Sophia gondola stationMid-point of the free town-to-Mountain Village gondola. | 10,540 ft (3,213 m) |
| Base | Base: Town of Telluride (Oak Street / Lift 7 / gondola) | 8,750 ft (2,667 m) |
| Base | Base: Mountain Village | 9,545 ft (2,909 m) |
Getting to Telluride: airports and drive times
The closest airport to Telluride is Telluride Regional Airport (TEX), 8 mi (12 km) away and about 15 min by car. Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ), which has more flights, is 70 mi (113 km) away and about 1 hr 25 min by car.
| Airport | Drive | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Telluride (TEX) | 15 min | 8 mi (12 km) |
| Montrose (MTJ) | 1 hr 25 min | 70 mi (113 km) |
| Aspen (ASE) | 4 hr | 201 mi (324 km) |
| Eagle / Vail (EGE) | 4 hr 5 min | 234 mi (376 km) |
| Steamboat / Hayden (HDN) | 5 hr 25 min | 292 mi (470 km) |
Typical driving time with no traffic and open roads, rounded to five minutes. Chain controls, storms and resort-weekend traffic add to it. Routed over OpenStreetMap road data.
Telluride in 3D
Runs and lifts as mapped on OpenStreetMap, over terrain from elevation data (heights exaggerated slightly). Drag to look around; two fingers on a phone.
Highlights
Pros
- ✓Best-in-Colorado scenery with jagged San Juan panoramas
- ✓No I-70 traffic and famously short lift lines
- ✓Serious hike-to steeps alongside superb long groomers like See Forever
- ✓Authentic, walkable town with real history and great dining
Cons
- ✗Hard and expensive to reach - small regional airport or 6+ hr drive from Denver
- ✗Lower snowfall (~280 in) than northern Colorado resorts
- ✗Holiday window tickets hit $326 plus a new 5% local lift ticket tax
- ✗Best expert terrain requires bootpacking at high altitude
Quick answers
Is Telluride on the Epic Pass?
Yes. For the 2026-27 season the Epic Pass includes 7 days at Telluride. Only the full Epic Pass (and Epic Adaptive Pass) gets up to 7 days; Epic 4-7 Day passes with All Resort Access can spend their days here. Epic Local, Epic 1-3 Day and Epic Military passes do NOT include Telluride. No reservations needed since 2025-26, but the My Epic mobile pass is not accepted - bring the physical Epic card. After the 7 days, Epic Pass holders get up to 50% off the window rate.
Is Telluride on the Ikon Pass?
No. Telluride is not on the Ikon Pass for 2026-27. It is on the Epic Pass (7 days) instead. Telluride has never been on the Ikon Pass. It was on the Mountain Collective (2 days) for 2016-17 and 2017-18, then left in 2018 to become the Epic Pass's first independent destination partner (7 days on the full Epic Pass), a deal that has run every season since, including 2026-27. It is independently owned by Chuck Horning, not by Vail Resorts.
What is the elevation of Telluride?
Telluride sits at an altitude of 8,725 ft (2,659 m) at the base and 13,150 ft (4,008 m) above sea level at the top of the lifts, for 4,425 ft (1,349 m) of vertical drop. Named peaks and lift tops: Top of hike-to terrain (Palmyra Peak ridge / Gold Hill) at 13,150 ft (4,008 m), Palmyra Peak (true summit) at 13,320 ft (4,060 m), Top of Revelation Lift (highest lift-served point) at 12,570 ft (3,831 m) and San Sophia gondola station at 10,540 ft (3,213 m).
How big is Telluride?
Telluride has 2,000 acres, 19 lifts and 148 runs.
How much snow does Telluride get?
About 280 inches (711 cm) a year on average, as reported by the resort.
How much is a lift ticket at Telluride?
A walk-up adult day ticket peaks at $326 for the 2025-26 season. Same-day window tickets were $286 regular and $326 peak holiday in 2025-26; buying online in advance is cheaper, and Epic Pass holders get up to 50% off once their 7 days are used.
When does Telluride open for the season?
Scheduled for 2026-27: opening November 26, 2026 (targeted), closing April 4, 2027. Dates move with snowfall, so check the resort before booking.
Is Telluride on Epic or Ikon?
Epic. The full Epic Pass includes up to 7 days at Telluride for 2026-27; Telluride is not on the Ikon Pass and never has been. Epic Local and Epic 1-3 Day passes don't work there.
Is Telluride a Vail resort?
No. Telluride Ski Resort is independently owned by Chuck Horning (since 2004); it only partners with Vail Resorts' Epic Pass. Unlike Vail-owned resorts, it does not accept the My Epic mobile pass - Epic holders need the physical card.
What is the elevation of Telluride's Mountain Village and gondola?
The town of Telluride sits at 8,750 ft, the free gondola climbs to San Sophia Station at 10,540 ft, then drops to Mountain Village at 9,545 ft. The ride takes about 12 minutes and runs 6:30 a.m. to midnight.
Was Telluride closed by a ski patrol strike?
Yes - the resort shut down from December 27, 2025 to January 8, 2026 during a ski patrol strike, reopening after a new contract was approved on January 8, 2026.
What is the closest airport to Telluride?
The closest airport to Telluride is Telluride Regional Airport (TEX), 8 mi (12 km) away and about 15 min by car. Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ), which has more flights, is 70 mi (113 km) away and about 1 hr 25 min by car.
Skier Insightssummarized from skier trip reports and forum reviews
Telluride inspires a specific kind of loyalty: skiers describe it less as a resort visit and more as the trip that ruined other Colorado resorts for them. The setting does the heavy lifting — a historic mining town dead-ending into a box canyon, lifts rising straight off the main street, San Juan peaks stacked overhead — but the isolation is the real product. Being nowhere near I-70 costs six hours of driving and buys back everything the Front Range corridor has lost: empty groomers, short lines, and a town that still feels like a town.
The skiing splits cleanly by appetite. Cruisers get See Forever and Prospect Bowl, long high-altitude runs with absurd sightlines; bump skiers get the Plunge dropping nearly 3,000 sustained feet to town; and the ambitious get the hike-to program — Gold Hill's chutes, Black Iron Bowl, and Palmyra Peak at 13,150 feet, where a thin-air bootpack guards powder that lasts days. The honest caveats: snowfall runs lighter than northern Colorado, so early season can leave the steep stuff bony, and the marquee expert terrain requires legs and lungs. Crowds are a non-factor by Colorado standards; the free town-to-Mountain-Village gondola is both transit and evening entertainment.
It's best for destination travelers who want scenery, a real town, and uncrowded skiing over maximum snow totals — couples and families especially, though strong skiers who time a February-March trip get world-class terrain too. It's a full-Epic-Pass partner (seven days; Epic Local doesn't work), which pairs neatly with a Vail-or-Beaver-Creek week for contrast. Costs land Aspen-tier, with Mountain Village condos as the convenience play and in-town lodging as the character play. Against Aspen itself, Telluride counters comparable town charm with better crowd math and a harder journey — which, regulars argue, is exactly the point.
What skiers like
- +The box-canyon setting is unanimously rated the best scenery in Colorado skiing — 13,000-foot San Juan walls on three sides, and trip reports lead with the view before the snow
- +No I-70 means no I-70: lift lines are rare even during holidays, and the drive-market crush that defines Summit County simply doesn't exist here
- +The Palmyra Peak and Gold Hill hike-to terrain is real earn-your-turns skiing — bootpack to 13,150 feet for chutes that stay soft because most guests never go
- +The free gondola between town and Mountain Village runs until midnight — a car-free trip is genuinely easy, and the commute is thirteen scenic minutes
- +Balance is underrated here: Prospect Bowl greens at altitude, See Forever's endless cruising, and Revelation Bowl give every ability real terrain with the same views
- +The town is the anti-Vail — a working Victorian main street with no chain stores, independent restaurants, and festival culture year-round
- +The Plunge and Spiral Stairs serve some of Colorado's longest sustained bump runs, dropping nearly 3,000 feet straight back to town
- +Reservations were dropped starting in 2025-26, removing the last logistical annoyance from Epic Pass visits
Common complaints
- −Getting there is the tax: the regional airport cancels in weather, Montrose is 90 minutes, and Denver is a six-and-a-half-hour drive through mountain passes
- −At around 280 inches a season, snowfall trails the northern Colorado resorts — the steeps can stay thin and rocky until February
- −Only the full Epic Pass works — Epic Local and the cheaper tiers get nothing, which surprises a lot of passholders at the ticket window
- −The Palmyra bootpack at 13,000 feet flattens sea-level visitors; the marquee terrain demands acclimatization and real fitness
- −Everything is expensive — window tickets past $300 plus a local lift-ticket tax, and dinner-and-lodging costs match Aspen without Aspen's flight options
- −The famous front-side descents are bump runs — skiers who don't love moguls find the signature terrain punishing
- −Festival weeks and holidays book the small town solid months out; last-minute lodging is either gone or eye-watering
- −Nightlife is a couple of good bars, not a scene — party-trip planners should recalibrate or choose elsewhere
Common Questions
What's the best way to get to Telluride?
How hard is the hike to Palmyra Peak?
When is the best month to ski Telluride?
Is Telluride good for beginners and intermediates?
Telluride or Aspen — which trip should I book?
Sources: epicpass.com, mountaincollective.com, liftblog.com, coloradosun.com, tellurideskiresort.com, tellurideskiresort.com, coloradoski.com, en.wikipedia.org, telluride.com, coloradotopia.com
Photo: Murray Foubister / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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