An hour of ice at Hanley Rink costs the Town of Telluride $92.12 to run this winter. That is up from $88.85 last season, a rate the Parks and Recreation Commission approved 5–0 on June 17, 2026. A public skating session costs you $6. The difference between those two numbers is a policy choice the town made, and in November it shapes most of the winter you can have in town. The gondola is down until November 20, and the ski resort's opening is a target, not a promise. Meanwhile the ice under the Town Park Pavilion roof has been running since October 7, and it is split up hour by hour.
How the Town Prices an Hour of Ice
Telluride Parks & Recreation sets the hourly rate with a simple formula. It adds up the previous season's utilities, a share of facility operations and maintenance, and the winter's fixed staff costs, then divides by the number of hours the rink expects to operate. The June 17, 2026 memo to the Parks and Recreation Commission gives four reasons for this year's 3.7 percent increase: higher utility rates, more utility use during a warm winter, higher staff costs, and a 2.8 percent drop in operating hours. Fewer hours means each remaining hour carries more of the fixed cost.
Program fees are built on top of that rate. Each participant's share covers the hourly ice cost, the ice cut, equipment, administration, and referees and scorekeepers where a program needs them. The memo is explicit about who pays the full cost. Adult hockey fees are set to break even. Fees for youth drop-in and public skating "will be significantly subsidized to encourage participation and facility use."
That makes the $6 session the discounted ice on purpose. A Town Park Pavilion Public Skate 10 Pass costs $50, which brings it to $5 a visit. The pass is good from October 7, 2026 through March 3, 2027.
A Rink the Town Paid For
The pricing makes more sense once you know how the rink was built. A 2004 year-end account now archived at telluridenews.com tells the story. The Town Park Pavilion was funded by a $1.9 million bond that town voters approved in 2001. More than half a million dollars came from the Andy Hanley Recreation Fund at the Telluride Foundation, with further support from the Town of Mountain Village, Great Outdoors Colorado, the El Pomar Foundation and the Lizard Head Hockey Club. The rink carries the name of former Mountain Village Mayor Andy Hanley. The same account notes that he did not skate himself but was a major supporter of an indoor rink for the region.
The NHL regulation-size sheet opened in early December 2004, when a curling club was still only a rumor that "may soon bid for ice time, too." Twenty-two seasons later, that club holds the latest slot on Monday nights.
The building is still being looked after. Telluride's 2025 Parks & Recreation annual report says a heat-recapture and boiler-replacement project in the Pavilion compressor room was mostly complete. That is the system behind the utility line in the hourly rate.
Why November Runs Through Town Park
The mountain is no help this month. Under Telluride Ski Resort's boundaries and uphill policy, resort access is closed from the time the gondola shuts until Lift 10 terrain opens to the public. When uphill travel does return, it is limited to the trails of the Sunshine pod, with Sundance excluded. Hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and no one may go above the top of Lift 10. Dogs are allowed only from 4:30 to 10 p.m., on a harness, leash or other tether. November 26 is the resort's targeted opening, set "subject to weather and conditions."
Town Park's free outdoor rink, with its warming hut and restrooms, is listed as open December through March, depending on the weather. That leaves Hanley as the one sheet of ice that is already running.
Who Holds the Ice After Dark
Evenings mostly go to the programs that pay their own way. Here is the weekly pattern from the 2026–27 schedule the commission approved at the same meeting, along with the program listings:
| Night | Program | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Telluride Curling Club main league | 8:45–10:45 p.m. | $650 per four-player team |
| Tuesday | Men's Hockey | 8:30–10 p.m. | $12 or one pass |
| Wednesday | Women's Hockey | 8:30–10 p.m. | $12 or one pass |
| Thursday | Men's Hockey | 8:30–10 p.m. | $12 or one pass |
| Mon, some Wed | Adult Stick Handling | per Town calendar | $12 or one pass |
The curling league runs from November 2, 2026 to February 22, 2027, with no league play on November 23, December 21 or December 28. Registration includes at least eight nights of curling plus membership in both the Telluride Curling Club and the United States Curling Association. The club offers a limited number of need-based scholarships, and its sign-up page says spectators are welcome at every event.
Adult coed hockey is listed from November 13, 2026 to February 28, 2027, and the listing says the season may begin as early as November 8, with games on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons or evenings. It is a recreational league with no checking and no slap shots. Teams are drafted, play at least 10 games plus playoffs, and a full spot costs $225, or $112.50 for a shared spot. The open registration window closed October 28.
All the adult hockey programs run on one pass system. Options are a $12 day pass, a 10-pass for $100 or a 20-pass for $175, and goalies play free. Players need their own helmet, elbow pads, shin pads, gloves, skates and stick. Packages expire March 3, 2027. The memo explains why the $12 adult session and the $6 public session are priced differently. One fee is set to break even. The other is set to fill the rink.
Where the Public Hours Fall
The subsidized sessions run mostly in daylight. The schedule sets them out like this:
- Weekday afternoons, 1:45–3:15 p.m. Most weekdays have a public slot in this window. On Tuesdays it alternates between public skating and Youth Drop-In on early-dismissal days.
- Thursday mornings, 10:15–11:45 a.m. This slot runs from October 8 through December 17. In January the Thursday morning ice goes to a curling league.
- Saturdays, primarily 10:15–11:45 a.m. The Town says this time may occasionally move to make room for paid rentals.
Late afternoons also have three weekly Figure Skating Club slots from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. On weekends and holidays the facility may open later or close earlier to keep operating costs down. Times can shift, so the live Hanley Rink calendar is the place to check before you go. Public skating has no online registration.
The $6 fee does not include skates. Rentals come from the Telluride Nordic Center at the west end of the rink, which the Town says will rent skates after mid-November. The Center runs a limited schedule until its season opens in late November. Rentals cost $15 a day for adults and $10 for youth, and skates must be worn with socks. With a rental, an adult's $6 session becomes $21. For a family that skates more than a few times, owned skates and a 10-pass make the town's subsidy go further.
Thanksgiving Week on the Ice
The Monday before Thanksgiving is one of the few nights a newcomer can get onto the curling sheets. The league takes November 23 off, and the club has scheduled Open Curling for that night from 8:45 to 10:45 p.m. It costs $20, or nothing for members. Each session is either a pick-up game, with teams set on arrival, or practice ice, depending on who shows up. Advance registration is required through the club's sign-up page.
That same week the schedule thins out. There are no practices on Thanksgiving or the day after. The resort's target date falls on November 26 that year, so Thanksgiving week is when the town's winter could begin moving uphill. For the next three weeks, it stays in a covered pavilion in Town Park on a schedule set in a June memo.
The Pavilion is one of many places where Telluride's public decisions show up in everyday life, and Lars Carlson has followed those decisions as a resident and in civic roles for decades. If you'd like to talk about how the town's facilities and rhythms fit into a property you own or are considering, Lars Carlson welcomes the conversation. Request a confidential consultation.
