Mountain Village, Colorado - Vacation Rentals

Nestled in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, Mountain Village as a modern resort complements the historical Telluride. The Ute tribes once lived in these rugged, snow-laden mountains, hunting elk, deer, and mountain sheep, before Spanish explorers discovered the area for themselves, in the 1700s. They established a town near what is now Santa Fe, for those who sought an overland route to the Pacific. The Spaniards christened the mountains San Juan. However, because of rough terrain and dangerous climate, they didn't stay for long. Anglo-descent fur trappers then settled to trade in the San Juan Mountains. When the beaver population declined from over-trapping, they too left the area.

Founded in 1878, Telluride was on the up and up as a silver mining town. Originally called Columbia, the US Postal Office forced the town to change its name, to avoid the confusion of a mining town in California with the same name. They changed it to Telluride; why that name, has two different speculations. Some say, it is derived from the non-metallic element, tellurium. That element, however, is not in the area. Others say, it comes from a local, colloquial parting, "To-Hell-You-Ride!". By the 1890s, a railroad brought in different walks of life, a population of 5,000, and wealth. There were an opera house, theater, saloons, dance halls, and a flourishing red light district. Price of silver crashed and the fixing of the price of gold, around World War I, spelled the beginning of the end of Telluride. Well on the way to being a ghost town by the 1960s, a local group of entrepreneurs, spearheaded by Bill Mahoney Sr., along with Joe Zoline revived Telluride by creating a ski area on Gold Hill.

In 1978, Ron Alled and Jim Wells took control and turned Telluride into a world-class ski resort. Mountain Village was later incorporated in 1995. Whereas Telluride has centuries' old stories to tell with Victorian houses and clapboard storefronts, Mountain Village awes with 9,545 feet window views from posh hotels and luxurious condos and homes. Mountain Village's population is approximately 950 residents. Mountain Village, located mid-mountain, will pause with miles of length, depth, and breadth of the white and rocky San Juan Mountains. Elegant restaurants, chic stores, deluxe condos, and homes crown the area known as the "Mountain Village Core". An award-winning gondola connects Mountain Village to Telluride. Free for public use, it is used to transport workers and skiers, and to simply ride and witness the phenomenal scenery.

Bicycles and pets are permitted. Bronze statues in tribute to the Ute natives, miners, and skiers stand by restaurants and shops in the pedestrian core of Mountain Village. A 92 acre, eighteen hole golf course runs through the mountain. Your drives are sure to be farther in these high altitudes. When not in Mountain Village, head to Telluride.

The Telluride Historical Museum and walking tours, hike the Bear Creek Trail, San Miguel Trail; visit the Sheridan Opera House, Trout Lake, Alta Lakes and Ghost Town, Cornet Creek Falls, Tomboy Ghost Town, Bridal Veil Falls, and the Town Park (a skateboard ramp, swimming pools, ice rink, playgrounds, fishing ponds, and other sports fields, are settings for fun year-round).

Regular and annual events brighten the mountains with festivities. To name a few: performance art from different outlets and venues, such as Sheridan Arts Foundation, Sunset Concert Series, Telluride Choral Society, and Telluride Dance Academy; fine arts at the Stronghouse Studios, Ah Haa School for the Arts, and Telluride Writer's Guild; wine and cuisine festivals; film festivals; jazz and blues festivals; marathons and races of all types, whether it be skiing and snowboarding, mountain biking and running, or rubber ducky races; and famous bands regularly travel through Telluride, such as Bob Dylan among others. Mountain Village, along with Telluride, doesn't have fast food restaurants, strip malls, or outlet stores. One-of-a-kind art galleries, books and music shops, clothing, jewelry, are within this valley. The latest in sports gear, rentals, and "Boot Doctors" have all you need to hit the slopes or hike the trails. Nightlife and restaurants encompass a kaleidoscope of styles, flavors, scales: Asian, BBQ, bars, pubs, and nightclubs, breakfast and coffeehouses, delis, upscale, French, Italian, Latin, Mexican, seafood, steakhouses, and sushi. When not eating and sleeping the slopes, relax your muscles and mind with a massage and facial at a spa.

Mountain Village has most of these places on location. And should you want only privacy, grocery stores have the necessities and supplies for your getaway. Having a wedding before the peaks of the San Juan Mountains can add a deep sensibility and grace to that utmost important day in your life. Mountain Village has everything from flowers to catering, subtracting some of the stress that comes with these unforgettable moments. Come wintertime, come summer, year-round knows no end to the active embrace of life in Telluride and Mountain Village. Try a few sports and leisure and you'll be hooked: golf, backcountry skiing, Nordic skiing, heli-skiing, snowboarding, ice climbing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, ice skating, free-for-all bowls, mountain biking, camping, fishing, fly-fishing, hiking, climbing, rock climbing, rafting, kayaking, skateboarding, swimming, jeeping, hot air ballooning, and spa-retreating. Among the pine forests and San Juan Mountains, you'll feel the altitude and life's embrace. Mountain Village is for those keen to comfort and luxury; Telluride history. Connect the two with an award winning gondola ride, and, as they say, you have the best of both worlds.