Most populous community of La Plata County, Colorado, with significant archaeological and historic sites surrounding the area including Mesa Verde National Park, Chimney Rock National Monument, and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot
Overview
Durango is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado.
There are significant archaeological sites surrounding the Durango area featured on the State and National historical registers, including:
- Mesa Verde National Park, a World Heritage site
- Chimney Rock National Monument, the most northeastern known outpost of the Ancestral Puebloans
- Durango Rock Shelters Archeology Site, a Basketmaker and Pueblo culture
- Spring Creek Archeological District, a Basketmaker and Pueblo site
- Talus Village, a Basketmaker site
-1000.jpg)
.jpg){kind=link}
Attractions
Main Avenue is a Nationally Registered Historic District that cuts through downtown Durango and is home to galleries, boutiques, restaurants, bars, and other businesses. Two notable and historic hotels, The General Palmer and The Strater, lie at the south end of the avenue, near the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad depot. With its combination of historic architecture, entertainment, and shopping, Main Avenue has historically comprised the center of Durango and is a popular year-round tourist destination.
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
Durango is known worldwide for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a heritage railroad that operates what was the Denver & Rio Grande Western's Branchline to the historic mining town of Silverton, Colorado, also still notably using historic D&RGW Steam Locomotives and other historic rail equipment.
Animas River Valley
The Animas River Valley begins in the heart of the San Juan Mountains and runs through downtown Durango. It boasts gold medal fly fishing waters and is popular for whitewater rafting, kayaking and canoeing. On warm summer afternoons a popular diversion is to buy an inflated inner tube and float from Animas City to Schneider Park or below.
Purgatory Resort, located 25 miles north of downtown Durango, has 99 trails, 12 lifts, a vertical drop of over 2,000 feet, and more than 1,500 acres of skiable terrain. The resort features lodging, ski rentals, shopping, and dining. Purgatory is also a popular summertime recreation destination.
Durango is served by U.S. Highway 160 (the Old Spanish Trail), running east-west, and U.S. Highway 550, running north-south. Part of U.S. 550 offers high-speed access (primarily a 4-lane, divided highway) to Albuquerque, New Mexico. North of Durango, 550 is nicknamed the Million Dollar Highway, and is part of the scenic San Juan Skyway.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Durango, Colorado", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
