School me on Durango

[94essex]

Going on family trip up to Durango and I've never spent anytime in Colorado outside of 1 weekend in Denver. What's the site's to see? My only plan is to try some fly fishing. I figured I'd ask RDP members since it helped out so much last year when I went to Monterey.

 

[Ol Man]

Obviously you will want to ride the train to Silverton. Here is the link:
https://www.durangotrain.com/

I would recommend taking it up to Silverton and then getting a van ride back. Look around the web for the van rides. This will give you more town time and minimal crowds. We have done this a number of times when we have camped in Silverton. We have taken the van down in the morning and the train back in the evening and the opposite. It depends on what you want out of your day.

You will really enjoy wandering the town of Durango.

Rent a Jeep and explore the mountain trails. So much neat history and scenery.

 

[Sleek-Jet]

Someone on here lives there, I used to.

Plan on a day at Mesa Verde. You can get tickets for the cliff dwelling tours at the Durango Visitor center on Main Street.

Purgatory resort has fun stuff to do in the summer (alpine slide, mountain biking, hiking, ect).

 

[Sleek-Jet]

We always do dinner at the Bar-D Chuckwagon when we visit.

Stop by at Gazpacho's and order up a Stuffy, you'll thank me.

 

[Skinny Tire AH]

Obviously you will want to ride the train to Silverton. Here is the link:
https://www.durangotrain.com/

I would recommend taking it up to Silverton and then getting a van ride back. Look around the web for the van rides. This will give you more town time and minimal crowds. We have done this a number of times when we have camped in Silverton. We have taken the van down in the morning and the train back in the evening and the opposite. It depends on what you want out of your day.

You will really enjoy wandering the town of Durango.

Rent a Jeep and explore the mountain trails. So much neat history and scenery.

We did both Opher and Imogene pass. They're surely worth the trouble. I would imagine with the snow in Colorado this year, they both might still be impassible.

 

[PDQH2O]

We always do dinner at the Bar-D Chuckwagon when we visit.


X10 for Bar-D Chuckwagon. Great folks, excellent food and fun entertainment.

 

[FishSniper]

Going on family trip up to Durango and I've never spent anytime in Colorado outside of 1 weekend in Denver. What's the site's to see? My only plan is to try some fly fishing. I figured I'd ask RDP members since it helped out so much last year when I went to Monterey.

Been years since I was there but the trout fishing was really good when I was there and we did some river rafting.

 

[jet496]

1) Do a half day white water rafting trip. They have all different levels, even if you have small kids. Everyone can go and get on whatever raft is their level.
2) Some of the best times I've had boating were at Lake Navaho. Check it out. Best camping is on the New Mexico side at Sims Mesa. We've doen a family reunion probably 10 or 15 times there. Love it!
3) Train to Silverton & as mentioned take the shuttle back down or have someone meet you up there. The ride back can be long and boring since you already saw it. Silverton has a lot of history & cool place to hang after the train ride.
4) Mesa Verde is awesome.
5) Hot springs are cool. They are right on the outskirts of town.
6) Purgatory ski resort should have some summer activities.

 

[Boat 405]

Fishing or boating at lake Navajo
Bar D chuckwagon
Rock climbing
Hot springs
Silverton narrow gauge railroad
Purgatory resort hiking and mountain biking
Rzr riding
River is running up there right now. Flowing good. Could do a river rafting trip. Might be too big.

My rental house property is in Pagosa springs and hour to the east.

Lots of cool places to see there too

 

[Steve-o]

When are you going? We are heading there beginning of July. Our itenarary has the above mentioned on it.

 

[Racey]

The Million Dollar Highway that goes North from Silverton up to Ouray is also a beautiful drive with lots of scenic views and tight switchbacks (and lots of old abandoned mineworks)

 

[mash on it]

Had a good time at Durango brewing company. Good food and great beer.

Breakfast was at Oscars, a dive for a diner, but the food was good.
Waitress asked if I was Paul. (Who the f is Paul???) You look like Paul. Do you want what Paul orders? I said ok. (Sausage and eggs, biscuits and gravy)
Real home town feel. Went back several times.

Rode the train to Silverton and back.
Had a good time, the flask came in handy. This was an October trip, weather was cool and sunny.

Did the million dollar highway. They should have spent two million. (I could only see out one eye, so there's that) went thru Ouray, Ridgeway, Placerville, on to Telluride, and headed south thru Delores and Cortez, back to AZ.
Had a blast, would do it again anytime.

Dan'l

 

[Sleek-Jet]

Dolores.
If you make it there, stop at The Depot and have a green chili cheeseburger.

 

[Gelcoater]

Going on family trip up to Durango and I've never spent anytime in Colorado outside of 1 weekend in Denver. What's the site's to see? My only plan is to try some fly fishing. I figured I'd ask RDP members since it helped out so much last year when I went to Monterey.

The museum at the train station is pretty damn cool.
Pagosa Springs hot springs isn’t too far.
Mesa Verde...

We did a Day there.
If this sort of thing floats your bote you could do two.
It’s a vast area, miles between ruin sites.
There is a motor home camp ground there.
We stayed in Cortez the night before to make the driving minimal.

 

[Sleek-Jet]

Morefield campground in at the top of the hill going into Mesa Verde. Good hiking close by, the Knife Edge trail is a neat hike.

 

[Cobalt232]

My business partner has a house across from Purgatory. My favorites.

1. http://oldeschoolhousesaloon.com/ Call ahead to order pizza. If it is busy, it can take hours. Fun place. Near Purgatory
2. Rafting. Should be really big this year.
3. https://www.kenandsues.com/ Downtown restaurant.
4. Narrow gauge railway. (just do one way)
5. https://strater.com/ Historic hotel, good saloon with sometimes live music.
6. Purgatory resort. They just installed an Alpine Slide track thing. I haven't done it, but saw the layout this winter.
7. http://www.serioustexasbbq.com/ Great BBQ. I like the north location better.
8. Mesa Verde. As others have said, it is a must see. The best time is actually in the winter. Have been there a couple of times with just us and the ranger. More dwellings are open in the summer though. It is a bit of a slog to get up there, but well worth the drive.

 

[cofooter]

Great fishing below Navajo lake dam on the New Mexico side. Lots of other streams/rivers in the area though. Navajo Lake itself is killer, and never real busy unless its a big weekend.

 

[TOOLSHED]

Great fishing below Navajo lake dam on the New Mexico side. Lots of other streams/rivers in the area though. Navajo Lake itself is killer, and never real busy unless its a big weekend.

Miracle Mile below the dam. Go to Abe’s Fly shop on the river. They will hook you up.

 

[rrrr]

We did both Opher and Imogene pass. They're surely worth the trouble. I would imagine with the snow in Colorado this year, they both might still be impassible.

They won't have them open before mid-July.

 

[SR]

Lots of great suggestions in here already, we love the place, some of the most laid back folks we've ran across anywhere.
Purgatory had lots of snow this year.

 

[Skinny Tire AH]

Oh, and don't miss Honeyville. Fun place to stop.

 

[rrrr]

When I was 18, I agreed to drive my sister and a couple of friends to Telluride for the 4th of July street party, via the jeep trail from Silverton to Ophir. Back then the road was much more primitive than it is today, but easily handled by my '75 4 X 4 Suburban 2500.

We left Albuquerque early in the morning, and were at the pass around 2 PM. Based on years of previous experience, the pass was open by then. When we reached the summit, we discovered a road grader on the trail, and about 100 yards of 6' deep snow on the trail blocking further travel.

I turned around, and headed north out of Silverton to take the long way around through Ouray. In 1976, Telluride was still a sleepy little town, light years away from the chintzy overpriced ski town it is now. My family had been vacationing around the area for years, staying in a small house in Ophir built around 1900 and without plumbing or electricity. The Telluride 4th of July celebration was a local event, with maybe 1,000 people traveling there from nearby towns.

When we rolled into town, to my surprise there were dozens of Harleys on the streets, and bikers wearing colors were in good supply. In the 70s, there weren't any post-youth wannabees riding, this group was the real thing.

My sister and her friends decided they didn't want to hang around with biker gangs for a couple of days, so we headed south through Dolores, then east to Durango and the highway back to Albuquerque. We arrived home about 9 PM, a long day and a round trip through southwestern Colorado.

 

[Sleek-Jet]

Oh, and don't miss Honeyville. Fun place to stop.

I lived in the 4-corners most of my life, but only stopped in to Honeyville for the first time, our last trip back home. It was really a fun stop, and they now have whiskey!

 

[Kbach]

Gotta get a funnel cake in Silverton!!

We're headed that way this Friday. We do about two weeks in CO every other year. All great advice so far!!

Our son who was 1 last time we hit Mesa Verde is now 12, and we have 9 yr old twins so we're spending a couple days there. So breath taking!! Then on to Durango for 4-5 days, then Silverton for a week for 4th of July. They have such a cool small town parade and fireworks show put on by the volunteer fire dept all set in the valley of the San Juan mountains that rivals any professional show I've ever seen.

I've been all over the Southwestern CO Jeep trails several times but every time I go back it's like the first time. Hard to believe there's so much beatiful back country that 99% of the world will never see.
Hope you have a great trip!!

 

[Gelcoater]

Mesa Verde

If you see the horses. Don’t try to touch them, lol.
They’re wild animals and will most likely kick your ass something fierce.

 

[bagged97taco]

Gotta get a funnel cake in Silverton!!

We're headed that way this Friday. We do about two weeks in CO every other year. All great advice so far!!

Our son who was 1 last time we hit Mesa Verde is now 12, and we have 9 yr old twins so we're spending a couple days there. So breath taking!! Then on to Durango for 4-5 days, then Silverton for a week for 4th of July. They have such a cool small town parade and fireworks show put on by the volunteer fire dept all set in the valley of the San Juan mountains that rivals any professional show I've ever seen.

I've been all over the Southwestern CO Jeep trails several times but every time I go back it's like the first time. Hard to believe there's so much beatiful back country that 99% of the world will never see.
Hope you have a great trip!!

We will be in silverton July 2-8th. Priest gulch before that. Where you staying in silverton. We will have our 2 little ones there and have the Moho and rzr. We should meet up

 

[bagged97taco]

Last year they canceled the fireworks due to lack of snow/rain. This year I think they will be OK!! I’m not sure if I will be able to downhill ride at purg this year. Think there is still snow on the ground

 

[Kbach]

We will be in silverton July 2-8th. Priest gulch before that. Where you staying in silverton. We will have our 2 little ones there and have the Moho and rzr. We should meet up

We stay at a place called Anvil Campground, about a mile or two west of Silverton. It's first come first served dry camping, no hookups or anything but you're parked right by Mineral creek and best of all its free! We've stayed there when we are in Silverton for the last 30+ years, first with my parents and then with our family. We'll have our motorhome and Jeep. Where are you guys staying?

 

[Kbach]

Last year they canceled the fireworks due to lack of snow/rain. This year I think they will be OK!! I’m not sure if I will be able to downhill ride at purg this year. Think there is still snow on the ground

My wife read that the volunteer FD has taken back over the fireworks show so it should be pretty good again. For the last 4-5 yrs they had a private company running it and it hasn't been as good in our opinion.

 

[bagged97taco]

We stay at a place called Anvil Campground, about a mile or two west of Silverton. It's first come first served dry camping, no hookups or anything but you're parked right by Mineral creek and best of all its free! We've stayed there when we are in Silverton for the last 30+ years, first with my parents and then with our family. We'll have our motorhome and Jeep. Where are you guys staying?

We stay at the silverton lakes rv park.

 

[Dan Lorenze]

Dolores.
If you make it there, stop at The Depot and have a green chili cheeseburger.

My stomping grounds! We'll be there for escalate days Aug 8th-10th

 

[Sleek-Jet]

My stomping grounds! We'll be there for escalate days Aug 8th-10th

Cool, I didn't know if you all were still doing the trail ride every year or not.

I don't know if we'll be back during Escalate days, it is to close to the start of our school year.

 

[94essex]

When are you going? We are heading there beginning of July. Our itenarary has the above mentioned on it.

Were leaving kingman Saturday the 28th then coming back that following Saturday

 

[94essex]

Miracle Mile below the dam. Go to Abe’s Fly shop on the river. They will hook you up.

Will do!

 

[94essex]

We stay at a place called Anvil Campground, about a mile or two west of Silverton. It's first come first served dry camping, no hookups or anything but you're parked right by Mineral creek and best of all its free! We've stayed there when we are in Silverton for the last 30+ years, first with my parents and then with our family. We'll have our motorhome and Jeep. Where are you guys staying?

Unitedcampgrounddurango.com
1322 Aminos View Dr.
970-247-3853.
This is where were stayin

 

[94essex]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm excited to get this going. I've been working a ton the last few weeks so just now catching up on this thread. I'll definitely plan on mesa verde and the train ride 1 way. Fishing and rafting sounds like my speed. I was hoping I'd be able to down hill mtn bike a bit, but sounds like itll still be snowy. I'm gonna hit the restaurants and Brewerys. Got a DD as the wifes pregnant.

 

[94essex]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm excited to get this going. I've been working a ton the last few weeks so just now catching up on this thread. I'll definitely plan on mesa verde and the train ride 1 way. Fishing and rafting sounds like my speed. I was hoping I'd be able to down hill mtn bike a bit, but sounds like itll still be snowy. I'm gonna hit the restaurants and Brewerys. Got a DD as the wifes pregnant.

Also what's the golf like?

 

[rrrr]

Have you considered a rafting trip? The upper Animas River is probably near peak flows, and technically demanding. You might end up in the water.

The lower Animas is much more tame, but June water levels make it a challenge in some sections.

There are several guide services running the river, these guys are a good choice. There are half day trips on mild rapids, a good experience for the kids. They might be booked up though.

https://mild2wildrafting.com/colora...pShvgFSeC-1YZgz_Ts-AVCN7GxozIdRBoCNLcQAvD_BwE

 

[Kbach]

Unitedcampgrounddurango.com
1322 Aminos View Dr.
970-247-3853.
This is where were stayin

Nice, we've stayed there before. It's super cool having the train go right through the campground!!

 

[Sleek-Jet]

Also what's the golf like?

The municipal course is actually pretty nice links style course,t used to play there once a week. There are a couple of private clubs that have very nice courses that you should be able to get Tee times on; Dalton Ranch is up the valley and what used to be called Tammaron Resort up by Purgatory.

 

[94essex]

Have you considered a rafting trip? The upper Animas River is probably near peak flows, and technically demanding. You might end up in the water.

The lower Animas is much more tame, but June water levels make it a challenge in some sections.

There are several guide services running the river, these guys are a good choice. There are half day trips on mild rapids, a good experience for the kids. They might be booked up though.

https://mild2wildrafting.com/colora...pShvgFSeC-1YZgz_Ts-AVCN7GxozIdRBoCNLcQAvD_BwE

Thanks for the link. I hadnt until this thread. I've never done it but gonna make it a priority for this trip.

 

[94essex]

Nice, we've stayed there before. It's super cool having the train go right through the campground!!

Awesome! That's good to know!

 

[94essex]

The municipal course is actually pretty nice links style course,t used to play there once a week. There are a couple of private clubs that have very nice courses that you should be able to get Tee times on; Dalton Ranch is up the valley and what used to be called Tammaron Resort up by Purgatory.

Awesome, I wanna try and play a couple different days.

 

[94essex]

Durango was a success. We fit in about as much stuff as we could. I didnt hit any golf courses and I missed out on Mesa verse, just not enough time. We had 24 people in the crew so it was hard to do everything. Hit the brewerys and the scenic stuff. Only problem we encountered was my hot water heater on my trailer blew on the last day. Thanks for all the advice. I definitely wanna go back.[GALLERY=]

[/GALLERY]