Abandoned Towns

Ghost town record · San Miguel County, Colorado

Telluride

Home rule town in Colorado, United States.

Record

About Telluride

Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains.

This is a site record: what public sources say about Telluride, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.

Map

Where Telluride is

USGS topographic map around Telluride
USGS topographic map, The National Map (public domain). The pin marks the coordinates in the record; old townsites are often a little off.

Historic maps

11 historic USGS maps cover Telluride

Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.

Directions

Getting there

Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Before you go

  • Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
  • Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
  • Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.

Nearby

Other sites near Telluride

Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Colorado index.

Sources

Sources

  1. ghosttowns.com, "Telluride": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
  2. Wikipedia, "Telluride, Colorado": coordinates and summary.
  3. Wikidata Q1641728.
  4. USGS GNIS 204747.
  5. USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
  6. USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).