Insider Guide: Telluride, Colorado

Sunset’s Insider Guide series highlights seasonal diversions and secret travel tips from local experts. Follow along as we learn where to eat, drink, stay, and shop.

Meet the insider: Natalie Binder, founder of Camp V

After she stumbled upon a historic miners’ housing community in rural Colorado, Natalie Binder transformed it into an art-filled glamping site with restored cabins and Airstreams. It’s about an hour away from Telluride, where she’s lived for more than two decades.

“Telluride is a fun town,” Binder says, “so don’t be afraid to get funky!”

WHERE TO EAT:

© 2020 Eric Moore

Top Chef contestant Eliza Gavin is behind the fine-dining concept 221 South Oak inside a historic home. “Be sure to ask for the vegetarian menu,” Binder says. “You will not be disappointed!”

WHAT TO DO:

Aurelie Slegers

The historic Telluride Transfer Warehouse has “an old-school feel and you never know what up-and-coming artist or performance you will catch.”

WHERE TO STAY:

Auberge Resorts Collection

At the Madeline Hotel & Residences, the Timber Room bar has “a great mountain vibe and the outdoor firepits are so cozy,” Binder says. “Check out the daily Mountain Movements schedule as an inspiring way to start the day, or hit the Sky Terrace” for a hot tub dip.

WHERE TO SHOP:

The Pepporium owner Pepper Raper Contillo “has such a great eye for unique finds,” says Binder. “I have found everything from ’70s ski onesies to vintage furs in her super cute space.”