Telluride, Durango and Montrose

Colorado AvidGolfer

Tee It High, Let It Fly
Hitting shots from elevated tees is the most exhilarating component of playing mountain courses with dramatic elevation changes, especially at Telluride Ski and Golf Club and Glacier Club. It looks like you’re hitting into a vista of 14,000- foot peaks, and your ball seems to float in the air, suspended as if it was wearing a parachute before descending into a blanket of green. That sense of awe and majesty makes you feel like Tiger Woods, if not Hercules.

Local Knowledge

• The Bridges Golf and Country Club in Montrose has found an entertaining way to generate revenue—by hosting concerts at the golf course, with performers ranging from the Wailers to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
• Glacier Club is constructing a new nine-hole golf course, designed by Hale Irwin, on land acquired from the Forest Service. Once finished in spring 2014, 18 of Glacier Club’s 36 holes may be made available to the public.
• Dalton Ranch Golf Club is a casual and majestic gem in Durango that may go private sometime in the future, so make sure to get out and play this Ken Dye design this summer.

TIP FROM A PRO
“The Bridges requires accurate tee shots. There’s a variety of challenges—several greens have water or bunkers in front and back— but you’re not going to be surprised. There are no blind shots, everything is in front of you. So put yourself in position off the tee.”
– Eric Feely, GM, The Bridges Golf & Country Club

FEATURED COURSES

The Bridges Golf & Country Club
2500 Bridges Drive, Montrose
970-252-1119
montrosebridges.com

Dalton Ranch Golf Club
589 County Road 252, Durango
970-247-8774
daltonranch.com

Divide Ranch & Club
117 Ponderosa Dr., Ridgway
970-626-5284
eqresorts.com

Glacier Club
600 Glacier Club Dr., Durango
970-382-7800
theglacierclub.com

Hillcrest Golf Club
2300 Rim Drive, Durango
970-247-1499
golfhillcrest.com

The Links at Cobble Creek
699 Cobble Drive, Montrose
970-240-9542
cobblecreek.com

Telluride Ski & Golf Club
136 Country Club Dr., Mountain Village
970-728-2608
tellurideskiresort.com

19th Holes
• Remington’s at The Bridges’ new Executive Chef, Roberta Masden, purveys fresh Mediterranean dishes and award-winning desserts.
2500 Bridges Cir., Montrose 970-252-1119 x2; montrosebridges.com

• Enjoy mind-blowing views at Allred’s Restaurant, Telluride’s most popular happy hour destination, located on mountain at the gondola stop.
565 Mountain Village Blvd., Mountain Village; 970-728-7474; allredsrestaurant.com

• Horsefly Brewing Co. features locally brewed beers on tap as well as homemade root beer, cream soda and even sarsaparilla for your inner Yosemite Sam.
846 E. Main St., Montrose; 970-2499-6889; horseflybrewing.com

• The Chop House Restaurant in the historic New Sheridan Hotel is Telluride’s social epicenter. The oldest bar in town still has its original fittings from 1895.
231 W. Colorado Ave., Telluride; 970-728-9100; newsheridan.com

• Find Telluride’s finest bistro fare at La Marmotte, where the menu changes nightly depending on the season.
150 W. San Juan Ave., Telluride; 970-728-6232; lamarmotte.com

• The Creekside Restaurant at Cobble Creek serves woodfired pizzas, pasta, steaks, sandwiches and seafood.
697 Cobble Dr., Montrose; 970-249-5915; creeksidecobblecreek.com

The Spa at the Peaks Resort boasts many amenities to rejuvenate and invigorate, notably 32 treatment rooms offering the latest in massage aestheticsand body therapies (European-, Eastern and even Native American-inspired), Ayurvedic body treatments, hydrotherapy, skincare treatments, fitness classes and aromatherapy—even a meditation lounge and an oxygen inhalation bar. It's all at The Peaks Resort & Spa.
136 Country Club Dr., Telluride
970-728-6800; thepeaksresort.com

Old West
Built in 1887, the four-story red brick Strater Hotel serves as a living history of American Victorian architecture, furnishings and appointments. The bar and dining areas all radiate the character of the Old West. If it feels like a setting from a Louis L’Amour novel, it should. He wrote most of them in Room 222.
699 Main Ave., Durango
970-247-4431; strater.com

R&R @ B&Bs
Apple Orchard Inn, a luxury b & b near Durango, nestles on 4.5 acres of gardens featuring waterfalls, trout ponds, streams walking bridges and an apple orchard.
7758 County Road 203, Durango;
970-247-0751; appleorchardinn.com

Canyon Creek, located in a 1909 house, mixes vintage furnishings with modern touches like flat-screens and a maseuse.
820 Main Street, Montrose
970-249-2886; canyoncreekbedandbreakfast.com

WORTH CHECKING IN
• The Ice House Lodge
310 S. Fir St., Telluride
970-728-6300; icehouselodge.com

• Durango Mountain Resort
1 Skier Pl., Durango
970-385-2100; durangomountainresort.com

Festival Fun
Telluride offers a summer full of popular festivals, from Mountainfilm to Blues and Brews to Jazz Celebration, Wine Festival and the world-famous Telluride Bluegrass Festival (telluride.com). Classical music fans enjoy Durango’s Music in the Mountains(musicinthemountains.com), while north of Montrose, the Olathe Sweet Corn Festival (olathesweetcornfest.com) is all ears.

GET OUT!

• Ride a Bike. The 142-mile Tabeguache (TAB-a-watch) Trail connects Montrose and Grand Junction.
• Take a Hike. A halfhour drive from Montrose is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, home of Colorado’s highest cliff, the 2,250-foothigh Painted Wall.
• Wet a line. Cast for trout on the Uncompahgre, Animas, Gunnison or Cimarron rivers. Or ride the ripples.

All Aboard!
The historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has been in continuous operation for 130 years, carrying passengers behind vintage steam locomotives.
877-872-4607; durangotrain.com

Easy Glider
From now through Oct. 1, the Durango Soaring Club Inc. offers scenic glider rides over the Animas Valley.
970-247-9037; soardurango.com

For more on Durango visit: www.durango.org

Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.