NM09 Southern Colorado

Durango offers a bevy of activities that includes glider flights, rides aboard the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Train, rafting, kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, fishing, camping, motorcycle touring, rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding, and simply taking in the splendid scenery. Its downtown, little changed from its Victorian roots, offers boutique shopping, fine dining, art galleries, and saloons, including the historic Strater Hotel.

Fifty miles north of Durango on breathtaking U.S. 550, Silverton is a small and colorful town surrounded by towering mountains. The minerals in these mountains drew miners here in the 1870s (despite that fact that this was Ute land), and created the boomtown of Silverton. Today, the mines have played out, but playing in town and the surrounding outdoors provides new riches for this community. Tourists ride the train from Durango and explore Silverton for an afternoon. Silverton is the finish line for Memorial Day’s Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, in which cyclists race the train from Durango to Silverton, pedaling 50 miles over two legburning 10,000-foot passes.

Mesa Verde National Park, 56 miles west of Durango on U.S. 160 (about a 90-minute drive), is a national treasure. Nearly 5,000 ancestral pueblo ruins lie within the park’s 80 square miles, 600 of them being cliff dwellings. Of these, Cliff Palace is considered to be the most spectacular: a city of stone built into an alcove some 100 feet above the canyon floor. Guided tours of this and other impressive sites are available April through November (970-529-4465).

Though it started as a rough-and-tumble mining town, Telluride today is a tony playground for skiers, shoppers, and outdoor enthusiasts. Take the free gondola ride to Mountain Village for soaring views of Telluride below, nestled in a box canyon surrounded by 13,000-foot peaks. Telluride Ski Resort is renowned for its skiing, snowboarding, and panoramic views. Events are plentiful in Telluride. The Telluride Film Festival, Sept. 4-7, 2009, sees film lovers from around the globe come to celebrate the silver screen (877-896-0244).

To truly soak in the natural beauty, consider a dip in the famous hot springs of Pagosa Springs, which in the Ute language means “healing waters.” Nearby Wolf Creek Pass is yet another snow lover’s paradise.

Antonito is the Colorado destination of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, a must for railroad buffs and scenery lovers.