mountain village

Very charming little village nestled against the mountain with great food and great people. Hiking, biking, skiing, fantastic music and great fun! Shops galore. Not a lot of night life, but you can't beat the charm. Great place for families.

Only a 20 minute drive from the Mountain Village is the trailhead to Lizard Head Peak. While the peak is not advised for a direct climb other than by technically trained and outfitted people, the trail and views of the surrounding area are well worth the approximately 7 to 8 mile roundtrip hike from your parked car. The trailhead begins off of Colorado 145 about 2 miles south of Lizard Head Pass. The total elevation gain to the base of Lizard Head is about 2,000 feet, beginning from about 10,000 feet at the parking area. While I would call it a nice gradual walkup, for the uninitiated the altitude will add a level of difficulty for some. The trail is well marked, cleared and easy to follow. There are no significant water crossings (a few wet areas at times). After hiking about 2 miles the forest opens up and the staggering view of Lizard Head peak will now be your guidepost. Lizard Head looks like an old, eroded volcanic plug. Geologically it is better described differently and not necessary for this discussion. Suffice it to say it is a very tall rock monolith rising about 1000 feet on its pedestal base at the top of the trail. It is not one of Colorado's 14'ers (13,119 ft), but there are a number of 14'ers very nearby and easily viewed during the hike. Lizard Head has long been recognized for its unusual structure and the now abandoned Rio Grande Southern Railway used a representation of it on their logo since the old railroad crossed Lizard Head Pass and the peak became a bit of a destination viewing from that distance years ago. But the hike brings one very near this monolith and the surrounding views are stunning in all directions and well worth a day to enjoy. Packing a lunch or snack will make your turnaround point both nourishment and a photography stop. As with all hiking in the Colorado mountains, be prepared for rapid weather changes. While summer is inviting, the Southwest monsoon season brings increased likelihood of afternoon thunderstorms which can materialize within an hour from an early day clear blue sky. Some of this area is above timberline, so natural shelter is scarce. We let our hosts at the Ice House Lodge in Telluride know of our intentions and expected return time and they dutifully kept our note available until we retrieved it at the expected time of return - just a safe practice when hiking alone or with no one to be expecting you. On your return to Telluride, after passing the entrance to Ophir on the right and somewhat below Lizard Head Pass, look for a view of "The Lizard" from the north - the backside of where you hiked to. And if you are on the gondola riding up and down from the Mountain Village look for Lizard Head in the distance off to the south as you are between the Village and the mid gondola terminal.

Mountain Village is so picturesque. If I only had about 10 mil, I would move there in a heart beat. I spoke to a few locals and they were so friendly. Everyone that worked in the restaurants or shops were extremely friendly, helpful and truly appreciative of our business.

Enjoyed the atmosphere but room was too small and noisy..be sure to stay away from dumpster........too noisy

Mountain Village is a fairly new, planned community. It's location is ideal because of its proximity to Telluride both communities work well together. Telluride is the old western "real" town and Mountain Village is the new planned vacation community. The genius is the installation of the free Gondola transportation between the two that allows them to feed off each other.I like the arrangement so that when vacationing I can ski in a community designed for skiing, yet after skiing hours I've got a real town to go to. While staying in Mountain Village, I frequently went over the mountain to Telluride to visit a restaurant, go to the movies and go shopping.I don't know how the behind-the-scenes politics between the two communities works out but for me, the vacationer, it is ideal. I hope Telluride and Mountain Village can sustain their relationship so that I can continue to enjoy the area into the future.

My partner and I arrived December 24th after staying two nights in Breckenridge. We stayed at Mountain Lodge ...the rates were great for the area. $250 per night. The room was small but cozy...we asked for and got a small refrigerator for the food we had purchased in Montrose on the way from Breckenridge... We had also stopped in Gunnison....gone over Monarch Pass and had a thoroughly enjoyable adventurous day trip to Telluride...we left Breckenridge right after ten am and arrived in Telluride after nine pm. ...what a f...... Trip!!!! LoL Mountain Village is beautiful at night we arrived in light snow. The front desk was wonderful and friendly. Back to the room yes it was small and cozy..the sink area was user friendly. The shower and toilet area was ridiculously compact...I had to stand in the shower to close the door to use the toilet. But....hey this was an adventure!!!! The restaurant across at the lodge is overpriced and had limited operating hours while we were there. We stayed in our room for most of Christmas day....we ventured out Christmas night. We rode the Gondola over the mountain to Telluride...OH MY GOD ...WOW...THE VIEWS ...JUST AWESOME!!! The descent into Telluride the experiences of all three nights we stayed at Mountain Lodge the reduced holiday rate for the stay...the fantastic mini supermarket that's on site.. The walkable distance to the Gondola... I have other reviews for the fabulous Telluride adventure. As a first timer in Telluride staying at Mountain Lodge .......do it!!!!!!

Predictable shopping and dining choices. Conference center may have set a new record low for food quality.

Yes it's elitist and only way you could own a home is if you are in the 1 percent or close to it, with it's million dollar homes Mountain Village is beyond most americans reach to actually live in. Therefore while it and it's resorts make money for the Telluride area long time town folk one can observe the differences when the rich fly in to enjoy the resort areas in their million dollar homes. For the rest of us who save up and visit as tourists if you can ignore the class differences it's a very nice and fun place to visit. Beautiful mountain setting and quiet and enjoyable to take the gondola down into telluride from here. The town puts on many events on on this December time weekend had a nice short evening skate exhibition put on in the town ice rink for free. Again as a tourist a wonderful place spring, summer, fall or winter to go and enjoy.

We have stayed both in town and mountain village. We like the village because all the hotels are ski in ski out. If you have kids, very accommodating. Easy to take the gondola in to town at night but there are good places to eat in the village also.

Spent the day in Telluride going in and our of shops. Took the gondola to Mountain Village for the evening. Skiers skied down the mountain with red flares while fire works were going off at the top of the Mountain. Great experience.

We do love Mountain Village in Telluride. Sure it's cold, at very high altitude (if you don't know whether your body can handle high altitude, you're sure to find out...) and hard to get to, but the skiing is terrific and the people are great and the town is chock full of conveniences without being overly fancy. The lift lines are also very reasonable, except for Xmas week (we've visited at different times of year and Xmas seems to be the only winter period that's overwhelmingly crowded, which can also mean a long gondola wait).

Mountain Village is a great family place. Ice skating, restsurants, shops, skiing all within a great village atmosphere. This place has it figured out. A very safe place for all family members. Don't miss!

Loved walking around and attending the light show in Heritage square. Starbucks is right there and it is just a hop skip and a jump from our hotel!

So beautiful. Good restaurants and nice shops. Elegant and lively. Festively decorated for Christmas.

The layout of Mountain Village is ideal, as we were able to walk out of our condo and walk to cafes, restaurants, shops. An ice skating rink is also on the premises. Very close to the ski lifts, gondolas and slopes. A great vacation spot for the holidays!!