The town of 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. The first gold mining claim was made in the mountains above Telluride in 1875 and early settlement of what is now Telluride followed. The town itself was founded in 1878 as "Columbia", but due to confusion with a California town of the same name, was renamed Telluride in 1887, for the gold telluride minerals found in other parts of Colorado. These telluride minerals were never located near Telluride, causing the town to be named for a mineral which never was mined there. However, the area's mines for some years provided zinc, lead, copper, silver, and other gold ores.

Telluride sits in a box canyon. Steep forested mountains and cliffs surround it, with Bridal Veil Falls at the head of the canyon. Numerous weathered ruins of old mining operations dot the hillsides. A free gondola connects the town with its companion town, Mountain Village, Colorado, at the base of the ski area. Telluride and the surrounding area have featured prominently in pop culture. It is the subject of several popular songs. It is especially known for its ski resort and slopes during the winter as well as an extensive festival schedule during the summer.

The Telluride Historic District, which includes a significant portion of the town, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also one of Colorado's 20 National Historic Landmarks. The town population was 2,325 in the 2010 United States Census.

In popular culture

Telluride and the area surrounding it has had a notable effect on pop culture. Historic Telluride figures prominently in Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day. Telluride was the subject of an essay by Edward Abbey, and Modern Telluride is the setting of Raymond H. Ring's 1988 detective novel Telluride Smile. Telluride is mentioned in the song "Smuggler's Blues" by Glenn Frey, and is the subject of and eponymous songs by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1985, Kate Wolf, and Tim McGraw in 2001, which was re-recorded by Josh Gracin in 2008. It was the setting of the 1998 movie Scrapple, directed by Christopher Hansen. Local residents and common visitors, some of which have shown up for The Telluride Film Festival, have included John Denver, Bob Dylan, Daryl Hannah, Diablo Cody, Jerry Seinfeld, Greg Kinnear, Ed Helms, Nicolas Cage, P!nk, Jason Schwartzman, Sean Penn, Oprah Winfrey, Meg Whitman and Tom Cruise.

The short-lived early 1990s hard rock group T-Ride took their name from a commonly used contraction of Telluride. They seem to have chosen this name at least in part because of the theory that "Telluride" is itself a contraction of "To Hell You Ride". The song "Ride" from their album T-Ride includes the lyric "Te-hell-ya Ride".

Originally a mining town, Telluride now is known for its ski resort, Telluride Ski Resort. In the summer, there are festivals almost every weekend, including Mountainfilm in Telluride, the Telluride Film Festival, Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, the Telluride Wine Festival, the Mushroom Festival, the Nothing Day Festival and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
UK rock group Chapel Club released a song named after the town on their 2010 Wintering EP.