Your next backyard hangout could have a little more ski-town character than the usual patio furniture.
The Town of Mountain Village, Colorado, is auctioning 10 refurbished gondola cabins, with proceeds benefiting Mountain Munchkins, its town-owned childcare center. Suggested starting bids are $4,000 per cabin. Six red, two yellow and two blue cabins are available. That figure is a suggested opening bid, not a fixed purchase price.
These Cabins Already Had a Second Life
These are the refurbished dining cabins visitors may recognize from Mountain Village’s plazas, rather than cabins being advertised as newly removed from Telluride’s operating gondola.
The town and Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association developed The Cabins at Mountain Village during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating private spaces where visitors could enjoy food from local restaurants. The installation ultimately included 25 cabins.
When the project debuted in 2020, diners could scan QR codes inside the cabins to browse nearby takeout options. Timed heaters helped keep the spaces comfortable, while the cabins gave families a place to gather outside conventional restaurant dining rooms.
The project later took on an artistic role. In 2021, the town, owners association and Telluride Arts unveiled 11 cabins decorated with work by local and regional artists, turning the dining pods into a public art installation.
The current auction does not mean the entire collection is disappearing. Mountain Village says it will retain the remaining cabins for public use.
Supporting the Families Behind a Ski Town
The beneficiary is a year-round community service, not simply a place for visiting parents to drop off their children during a ski vacation.
Mountain Munchkins opened in 1996 and primarily serves families working in the Mountain Village and Telluride region. Located at Village Court Apartments, it provides licensed infant, toddler and preschool care, with programs starting at two months old and continuing through the years before kindergarten.
The town owns, operates and subsidizes the center, which also receives support from grant-funding organizations. Financial assistance is available based on household income and other factors.
According to the auction announcement, Mountain Munchkins currently serves 38 regional families.
For the eventual buyers, that gives the purchase a purpose beyond acquiring an unusual piece of ski memorabilia.
How to Bid
Bids must reach Mountain Village’s Public Works Department by email by 5 p.m. Wednesday, September 30, 2026. Buyers must haul away their cabins by November 1. Submission details are available in the town’s official auction announcement.
Before bidding, confirm the individual cabin’s dimensions, weight, condition and loading requirements with the town. Planning where to put it is only half the job. You also need a workable plan for getting it there. A gondola cabin might be an extravagant answer to the question of where to have your morning coffee. Helping support local childcare makes it a little easier to justify.
