I’ve heard great things of Durango, so I had to stop by on my way north.
Upon arriving I stopped by the Durango Welcome Center. I had a lovely chat with one of the women working there. She gave lots of helpful information and things to do around Durango. I left with a (literal) stack of papers, lol.
Biking The Animas River Trail
The Animas River runs through Durango and naturally there’s a nice trail that follows it. It’s not short though… So, I brought out the bike to explore rather than on foot. Also, I had to since some claim it’s the biking capital of the world. I will say, there are TONS of biking trails around the town and up in the hills/mountains. I didn’t get to explore them all this time.
What a beautiful ride! And the trail was really nice – wide, paved, and well maintained.
Halfway through my ride I heard what I thought was a train whistle off in the distance. “Must be some kids playing at a park,” I thought. A minute passes and the whistle amplifies. I turn around to see…
You should’ve seen the smile on my face. SO cool. I haven’t seen a train like this in forever.
There are multiple trains that run from Durango north to Silverton and back. Next time I visit I’m hopping on one of these.
Walking The Historic Downtown
After my sweaty ride I got some ice cream (at Cream Bean Berry; highly recommend) and walked around the historic downtown area.
I ducked into art galleries, shops, and just soaked it in wandering around.
Scenic Aperture Art Gallery
Now that I’ve been cultured by the art galleries of Santa Fe, I had to check out some art galleries here in Durango.
One particular gallery really struck me, called Scenic Aperture, on E 7th St and Main Ave. Inside were a collection of incredible landscape and wildlife photographs. Absolutely stunning. Unfortunately I don’t have any photos to share since they were copy written (and I no longer take photos of art, haha) so you’ll just have to check his website.
It’s been really hard for me to describe the feeling in words, but I felt some combination of inspiration and the feeling of seeing things that are aesthetically pleasing, dare I claim “perfect.” THAT is the kind of art and photography that I get excited about. It makes me want to spend more time in the southwest mountains of Colorado and capture my own versions of beauty like that.
11th Street Station
I had overheard someone earlier in the day say “yeah they’re playing at 11th Street Station.” My ears perked and eyebrows raised as if a new side quest had just been added to my journal.
NEW SIDE QUEST ADDED: Visit 11th Street Station
So of course I had to visit while on my walk.
Now on the corner of 11th St and Main Ave sits a converted fuel station and auto repair shop with locally owned food trucks, a full bar, coffee, and tons of seating. As they say in the biz, it’s “hip and cool.”
I got some ultra-local grass-fed beef brisket from Rang Tang Craft Barbecue and my lord I think that was the best brisket I’ve had in my entire life. It just melts in your mouth.
SIDE QUEST COMPLETED: Visit 11th Street Station
Train Station
I ended my walk at the Durango Train Station where I found my next Christmas gift idea.
Sunset
I drove up to Rim Drive at Fort Lewis College for sunset. It’s an absolute must. The woman at the Welcome Center recommended hiking the Sky Steps trail, but you can also just drive up 🙂 I think driving often takes away some of the satisfaction, but I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
What’s Next
I only stayed for about a day and a half in Durango. It was just a taste. I’ll be back. But, for now, I’m headed north to other areas of the country I’ve never been.
Notes For Next Visit
Things I want to do when I come back:
- Buy/Rent an inflatable kayak or paddleboard and ride down the Animas River – tons of people were doing it and it looked wicked fun
- Pro tip: I think I could lock my bike at one end of the river and park my van at the other so that I don’t have to walk all the way back.
- Ride the train to Silverton and back