Destination: Telluride

TELLURIDE - Like Aspen, this former mining town-turned-hippy hangout in the 1970s has become a magnet for the rich and famous.

But unlike Aspen, Telluride has retained its flip-flops-hippy vibe, and while it can be a playground for the rich, they let the rest of us play there, too.

Once the skis and snowboards get packed away, Telluride turns to festivals, some fun regional affairs (there’s a mushroom festival — see, hippies still rule), others world-class (including the film and bluegrass festivals.)

Located in a gorgeous, red-hued box canyon in the San Juans, the town feels isolated and happening — the center of a very cool universe, where the culture you’d expect to find in a huge city somehow flourishes.

The old-time Western downtown, a National Landmark Historic District, invites strolling with a tremendous assortment of cafés, shops and galleries.

If you’re looking for more Aspenlike chic, take the free gondola to the Mountain Village, a newer resort area on the other side of the ski hill. You also can take your bike in the gondola and have some wicked fun speeding down the ski runs and bike trails.

Your experience of Telluride can be natural, cheap and roughing it, or as elegant and pampered as you can afford. Some of the best trips incorporate a bit of both.

THE BIG FESTIVALS

The Telluride Bluegrass Festival, the Big Kahuna of Planet Bluegrass’ schedule, is like Woodstock with banjos. It draws about 30,000 people each year into Town Park for a four-day party. Traditional bluegrassers, such as the Del McCoury Band and Ralph Stanley, mix with such popsters as James Taylor, Lyle Lovett and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Camp if you’re into all-night musical parties.

This summer’s festival ran June 17-20.

bluegrass.com

The Telluride Jazz Celebration started as “that other” Telluride music festival but is growing into one of the premier jazz events in the West. Like Bluegrass, the Jazz Celebration gives nods to the traditional while mixing in plenty of other influences — pop, blues, African and Latin jazz music.

This year’s festival runs Aug. 6-8.

telluridejazz.org

The Telluride Film Festival gets a thumbs up from Roger Ebert, who calls it his favorite film festival in the world. I have to agree. I love Sundance, but Telluride’s better. Sure, the setting is stunning. But it’s the great cinematic taste of the organizers that wows me every year. Telluride premiered “Cinema Paradiso,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Juno,” “My Dinner With Andre,” and so many other wonderful mainstream and art-house films. The lineup isn’t announced until the week of the festival, but regular attendees book months head, expecting quirky, dark, enlightening, disturbing, uplifting and brilliant works.

The festival runs Sept. 3-6 at various venues downtown and in Mountain Village.

telluridefilmfestival.org

A HIKE

Bridal Veil Falls, on the east end of the canyon, provides a moderate hike with a terrific payoff. The hike begins about 2 miles east of town on a jeep trail. A 30-minute hike up the switchbacks will get you to the bottom of the 365-foot cascade, the highest in Colorado. It’s great to cool off by standing on the banks of the stream, getting wet from the spray. If you want to go farther up, another 30 minutes or so will take you to the top of the falls, where you’ll find a pump station that provides about a quarter of Telluride’s electricity.

BEDS

Few resort areas in the West have the quantity and quality of lodging options that Telluride has, and it keeps getting better. Here are a couple of great choices (and keep in mind that rates vary wildly depending on how big the festival that’s going on at the time is):

The New Sheridan Hotel

231 W. Colorado ave., 1-970-728-4351; newsheridan.com

The Sheridan has always won the Miss Congeniality Award for its character, but a recent $6 million renovation has launched her into beauty queen status. Walk into the lobby, which looks much as it did when it was built in 1895, and it feels like you’re walking onto the Titanic. You know, but without the iceberg. Rates are about $169-$249.

Capella Telluride

568 Mountain Village Blvd., 1-970-369-0880; capellatelluride.com

If you’re looking for the luxurious European-style spa vacation, this new resort in Mountain Village is hard to beat. Rates run $195-$1,281.

BITES

Baked in Telluride

127 S. Fir St., 1-970-728-4775; discovercolorado.com

bakedintelluride

Young men and women wearing ragged clothing — who could be homeless or children of millionaires — lounge on the porch. Some drink beer. Others nibble pizza. A man in a designer suit walks past them to order a bagel and coffee at the counter. It doesn’t get any more Telluride than this. This casual bakery, pizzeria and sandwich shop in the heart of downtown puts bustle at bay with an ambience that encourages you to hang out as long as you want to and food that’s good, fast and relatively cheap.

Rustico Ristorante

114 E. Colorado Ave., 1-970-728-4046; rusticoristo rante.com

When you’re in Telluride and you’re looking to indulge, you have many great and pricey options. This one’s our favorite: authentic northern and southern Italian dishes served in a dining room that balances American contemporary with Old World charm. The enclosed veranda in back is about the most romantic spot on the planet.