The free gondola between Telluride and Mountain Village makes its last run of the summer and fall season on Sunday, October 25, 2026. It stays closed from October 26 through November 19 and reopens at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, November 20. That's 25 days when the two towns are linked by a bus and the road, and nothing else.
Most of Telluride's fall calendar falls into place once you look at those dates. The festival weekends all land before the closure. The gap itself has one community event on the calendar, and it's in town. Winter comes back in two steps six days apart. Here's how this fall's calendar works out.
The last ride is a Sunday, not a Monday
The spring version of this schedule has caused some confusion. When the Town of Mountain Village announced the end of winter service in April, it said the gondola would run for the summer season "through Sunday, October 26, 2026." October 26 is actually a Monday this year. The town's current fall closure notice and Visit Telluride both put the last service day on Sunday, October 25, with the closure starting the 26th. Go by the 25th. If you have an evening plan on the far side of the ridge that Sunday, work out your ride home before you go.
The closure is routine. The town says the gondola shuts down every fall and spring for required safety inspections and maintenance.
What carries people between the towns instead
The San Miguel Authority for Regional Transportation, known as SMART, runs a free bus between Telluride and Mountain Village whenever the gondola is closed for the shoulder seasons. The town's spring 2026 notice described what that service looked like last time: SMART's green buses running throughout the day with stops in Lawson Hill, Mountain Village and Telluride, plus an express route between Market Plaza and the Telluride Courthouse. As of early October, SMART hadn't posted a timetable just for the fall bus, so check SMART's site or the Town of Mountain Village transit page for exact times before the 26th.
A few other details matter if you usually count on the gondola to get to work or dinner:
- Dial-A-Ride is off too. Mountain Village's free Dial-A-Ride runs in summer and winter, not in the shoulder seasons.
- The Lawson Hill commuter route is a separate bus. SMART's posted Mountain Village schedule is a free weekday route between Lawson Hill and Mountain Village. It leaves at 7:35, 8:15 and 8:55 a.m. and again at 4:40, 5:20 and 6:00 p.m., stopping at Upper Lawson Hill, the Lawson Hill Park & Ride, Market Plaza, Blue Mesa, the Centrum Building and Mountain School. That page doesn't say when the schedule took effect, so confirm it before you plan around it.
- The Galloping Goose stays in town. The Goose is Telluride's in-town loop, with stops that include Carhenge and the gondola station. It isn't the bus that replaces the gondola between the towns.
During the day, the change is mostly a matter of planning ahead. At night, it shapes which side of the ridge you end up eating on.
Why October's busy weekends all come first
Put the published fall events on one calendar and they bunch up in the weeks before the gondola stops:
- Mountain Village Oktoberfest, October 9 to 11, with the main festival day on Saturday, October 10.
- Live music at Alloy Kitchen in Mountain Village, free and local, Fridays through Sundays from 6 to 9 p.m. through October 16, with dinner until 9 on event nights.
- Telluride Horror Show, October 16 to 18.
- Pumpkins & Peaks in Mountain Village, October 24 and 25, 1 p.m. to dusk.
Three of the four are in Mountain Village, and every one of them ends while the gondola is still running. Pumpkins & Peaks wraps up at dusk on October 25, the gondola's last day. If you live in Telluride, that weekend is your last easy trip up the hill for a while. If you live in Mountain Village, Horror Show weekend is your last chance to get into town and back without checking a bus schedule.
Eating after nine, inside the gap
The quietest part of the off-season is dinner. As of early October, Visit Telluride's "Off-Season Dining Fall 2026" page was still being updated and was asking local businesses to send in their hours and closing and reopening dates. Lists from earlier seasons are easy to find, but they describe a different year. The fall 2026 list will be the one to check once it's filled in.
One new spot has already said it will stay open. The Patio is in the former Bistro space above O'Bannon's, next to the Spruce Street pocket park, with front and back patios and an indoor dining room. It soft-opened in September, and the Telluride Times reported in its September 24, 2026 edition that it offers indoor and outdoor dining and takeout "throughout off season." It opens at 11 a.m. and serves its full menu until 11 p.m.
The late hours are on purpose. Director of operations Alex Laney told the paper:
"That is definitely an underserved piece of the market when it comes to food available after 9 o'clock."
Laney also said the goal was a smash burger, fries and a draft beer for about $20. The menu will grow slowly, with pizza, salads and deli sandwiches planned for later, and oysters, charcuterie and a full bar list available now. Laney's partners are brothers Mike and Matt Fulton, grandsons of former Telluride Ski Resort owner Ron Allred, along with Andrew Lechleiter. Laney came to the project after nine years running hospitality training for Telluride Ski and Golf. The group also plans to use the space Kamruz Photography Art Gallery now occupies on Main Street and the downstairs space O'Bannon's occupies.
For someone in town, an 11 p.m. kitchen within walking distance means no bus timing to worry about. For someone coming down from Mountain Village, it's one dinner option that stays open long after the 9 p.m. hour mentioned above.
The one community date inside the closure
Between October 26 and November 19, the community calendar has one big event, and it's in Telluride. The KOTO Ski Swap runs November 13 to 15 at Wilkinson Public Library. It falls in the third week of the closure, about a week before the gondola comes back. If you're heading down from Mountain Village with gear to sell or room in the car for new boots, the SMART bus or your own car will be how you get there.
Winter comes back in two steps
The off-season ends in stages. The gondola reopens first, at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, November 20. Telluride Ski Resort is targeting Thursday, November 26 for opening day, which is Thanksgiving this year. The resort says the date depends on weather, conditions and unforeseen circumstances, and lists April 4, 2027 as the closing date. That leaves six days when the two towns are connected again but the lifts aren't running.
One change will greet skiers at the base in Mountain Village. At its September 17 meeting, the Mountain Village Town Council took up a conditional use permit for a temporary Telluride Ski and Golf food truck in front of the Big Billie's building. The proposal moved public dining from inside Big Billie's to a food truck outside, with extra seating in the basement, and moved the Telluride Ski and Snowboard School lunch area up from the basement to the main floor. The council unanimously approved a one-year trial. Its conditions include snow maintenance and removal, keeping the space clean and attractive, a long-term plan before the permit expires, and no tent, even though the original proposal included one. Telluride Ski and Golf representative Steve Swenson described it as a short-term fix centered on the ski school and kids, and said a long-term plan would come later. No start date has been published, so it isn't clear yet whether the setup will be in place by November 26.
If you own a rental in Telluride or Mountain Village, a 25-day stretch with no gondola, little published dining information and a ski opening that depends on weather shapes your bookings, your cleaning schedule and what you tell guests about getting around. The property management team at Colorado Land Home & Ranch can help you plan the off-season around these dates and put together guest instructions that cover the SMART bus. Schedule a Consultation and we'll go through your calendar from October 25 to November 26 with you.
