What's in a Name?

Uncovering the history behind local trail names

by EMILY SHOFF

When the snow and ice finally melt and the valley yawns to life after a long winter’s nap, hiking and biking trails spider out of Telluride and Mountain Village in every direction. But although the trails are well-known, the history behind their names is not. Let’s take a closer look.

JUD WIEBE

One of Telluride’s most beloved loops was named after the man who was instrumental in its construction. Jud Wiebe, a forest ranger, had wanted to develop the unfinished trail for years. The trail that did exist, at that time, provided access to the town’s pestilence house, which served as a refuge for those suffering from a myriad of infectious diseases, ranging from small pox to diphtheria in the early 1900s. (And as a way to keep those diseases at bay!)

The trail to the house was unmarked and had fallen into disrepair. It was Wiebe’s vision to make the trail, which rises 1,200 feet above town and grants a sweeping view of its buildings and surrounding mountains, an easy-to-access hike.

Unfortunately, Wiebe died of cancer in 1986 while the trail was still being built and never got to see it complete. But, the trail’s constant use in the summer stands as a testament to his passion for local trail development.

ALDASORO

This nearly mile-long trail, built in 2016, connects the Remine Creek Trail to Penelope’s Trail and runs parallel to Airport Road. It is named after the Aldasoro family, who moved to the area from the Basque Country in Northern Spain in the early 20th century to raise sheep and provide lamb and wool to the nearby mining camps.

Although the family’s land is now subdivided into individual home lots and a shared open space, at one point, the vast Aldasoro Ranch included 12 homesteads, with space for over 5,000 head of sheep. Much of the Aldasoro family still calls Telluride home and now runs Telluride Sleighs and Wagons, which offers sleigh rides and an event space with spectacular views.

BRECKENRIDGE AKA PENELOPE’S

While Breckenridge Trail may be the official name of this 2-mile route above the Telluride Regional Airport, locals know it by a different name: Penelope’s — a nickname with its own fun and storied history.

Actress Penélope Cruz visited Telluride a handful of times while dating fellow actor Tom Cruise, who used to own a palatial house here. But the actress, who skied for the first time on Telluride’s Chair 1, left her mark indelibly on a trail close to Cruise’s old house in Aldasoro.

Built in the early 2000s, when the Cruz-Cruise relationship was still steaming up tabloids, the trail, which is primarily a bike path, runs for over 2 miles above Last Dollar Road and Telluride Regional Airport. Although Penelope’s is relatively short, bikers can easily stretch the ride into a longer loop by incorporating the Remine Creek Trail out of Lawson and the Aldasoro Trail.

REMINE CREEK

This newer trail, completed in 2018, crisscrosses the San Miguel River before climbing up into the Aldasoro neighborhood. It is named after the Remine brothers, who fought on opposite sides of the Civil War and are buried in Telluride’s Lone Tree Cemetery.

We’re guessing the brothers would never have believed that leisure sports like hiking and biking would take over the valley they mined. They were here to find gold — and hopefully a lot of it.

The two men arrived in the area in the early 1870s, before Colorado was a state and at a time when the country was still trying to amend for its many wrongs following the Civil War. The brothers hiked over Dallas Divide and worked their way up the valley, settling in a cabin on the river near the present-day trail. Although the brothers are now buried side by side, the Remine Creek Trail serves as a reminder of our country’s difficult history and the political division among families.

GALLOPING GOOSE

Although train whistles no longer echo throughout the valley, a trail stretching from Lizard Head Pass to Society Turn in Lawson Hill still bears the train’s name. There are a variety of stories about how the train, which ran through Telluride in its journey between Ridgway and Rico from 1931 to 1952, got its name. Some say it honked like a goose as it made its way, clicking and clacking up the steep mountain and scaring animals off the track. Others say that the “hybrid” locomotives, which were made by converting old automobiles into rail cars, looked like geese as they descended down the track. The Galloping Goose railcars no longer travel through Telluride, but the Galloping Goose bus, which loops around town, does.

The Galloping Goose Trail has gone through several renovations in recent years, including the ripping out of old railroad ties and repairing several washedout sections. Although the most popular stretch is the section that runs between Lawson and Ilium Road (around 2 1/2 miles), it is possible to bike all the way from Lizard Head to Lawson — and back again.