Durango, Colorado – a town tucked into the valley along the Animas River and best known for the historic and scenic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad – is so much more than a railroad town. Durango feels like a place where the Old West is still alive, but with all the conveniences of modern life. Surrounded by red rock cliffs and pine-covered mountains, the town is home to a charming downtown filled with historic buildings dating back to the late 1800s.

If you’re visiting southwestern Colorado, we highly recommend spending at least 2-3 days exploring the Durango area. Using Durango as a home base gives you access to an incredible variety of landscapes and experiences. Within minutes, you can be hiking through pine forests, soaking in the red cliffs at the Durango Hot Springs, or exploring the historic streets of downtown. Venture a little farther, and you’ll find scenic mountain passes, alpine lakes, and one of Colorado’s most unique National Parks – Mesa Verde National Park.

If you are a lover of scenic views, outdoor adventures, and laid-back Old West charm, Durango may be the perfect fit for your next weekend getaway!

Things to do in Durango:

Visit the Durango Hot Springs

No visit to Durango is complete without experiencing a soak – or a cold plunge at the Durango Hot Springs. This luxurious hot springs has got to be one of our favorites we have visited in Colorado (and we have been to quite a few!). The view of Durango’s red rock cliff mountains while soaking in the various pools was definitely a highlight of our weekend getaway to Durango. We booked a two hour soak from 8-10pm and were able to see the sunset and the stars come alive in the sky which was so incredibly magical. And for an added bonus – we didn’t notice any rotten egg smell which is often associated with hot springs.

Hike the Sky Steps

We aren’t typically ones to enjoy hiking up a ton of stairs (aka the Manitou Incline that sounds like absolute torture near Colorado Springs that we live a lot closer to ), but the Sky Steps hike in Durango is a short 529 steps with a view of Durango that is well worth the workout! We hiked the Sky Steps in the afternoon and were able to hear the Narrow Gauge Railroad train arriving back into town while we reached the summit of the hike. We were also able to finish this hike in just about 30 minutes as well, which made it a quick activity that didn’t deter from anything else on our itinerary.

Visit Maria’s Bookshop

If you know us, then you know that we love a good book – and what’s even better is when it came from a local bookstore! When we spotted Maria’s Bookshop on Main Avenue, we knew we had to stop in. This store had a great collection, including a cute little children’s book area in the back. With the library style ladders and rustic decor along with the thousands of books – we ended up spending quite a bit of time here and of course got a few books to read too!

Visit Honeyville

Located just 10 miles north of Durango, you’ll find Honeyville – a locally made honey shop and factory where you can sample a variety of honeys, jams, wines, whiskeys, and more all made from locally sourced honey. While here, you can also view their glass encased beehive! Honestly, this didn’t seem like somewhere that we would spend a lot of time, but we ended up visiting here twice during our weekend in Durango and not only sampled so many flavors, but ended up buying a ton of items. We loved the Durango style bloody mary mix, and the whipped cinnamon honey the best – but honestly there were so many good flavors to choose from that you can’t go wrong!

Visit the Animas Chocolate and Coffee Company

Ride the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

While we personally didn’t ride this train on our trip (we’re saving that for a trip with HallyAnn’s mom who loves trains) the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is definitely worth the scenic ride through the mountains. They have half day and full day tours available, but definitely eat up a chunk of time so be prepared to spend most of your day on the train if you choose to book this.

Purgatory Resort

If you are a fan of skiing, mountain biking, alpine slides and coasters, or scenic chairlifts – don’t skip out on the Purgatory Resort just north of Durango on Highway 550. We unfortunately visited between seasons over Memorial Day weekend so the skiing was closed and the summer mountain activities hadn’t quite opened yet, but if they had been we would have totally taken advantage of the alpine slide and coaster and probably the scenic chairlifts too!

Where to Eat in Durango:

Durango Diner

While visiting Durango – or any area in southern Colorado, you’ll want to be sure to try some green chili. Considering the Durango Diner not only makes their own, but also bottles it up to sell and ship out, we knew it had to be good. We ordered The Cure and the Diner Burrito, both of which were delicious!

Note: If you prefer to eat at El Rancho and have an alcoholic drink with your food as well, they also serve the Durango Diner food here. The Diner actually just walks the food over since it’s only a few stores down. If you prefer the diner style and don’t mind that you can’t drink alcohol, we recommend just eating at the diner itself for the authentic vibe!

James Ranch Grill

If visiting Durango, it’ll be hard to miss James Ranch Grill, a farm to table style restaurant serving up some delicious burgers that are chemical-free. When eating here, you aren’t just eating a burger, you are experiencing what it’s like to have fresh, locally raised and processed meat. Be sure to take a walk around the ranch reading signs about how they work the ranch and raise the animals. It’s very interesting and makes this more than just a much or dinner stop – but also an educational experience.

Note: If you are getting a burger, we highly recommend also getting fries with the baconnaise fry sauce and then dipping your burger in the fry sauce! The burger was so much better this way!

11th Street Station

While in the downtown Durango area, if you’re feeling hungry be sure to stop by the 11st Street Station where you’ll find a variety of food trucks serving a variety of different kinds of foods. We opted for a goat cheese margarita style pizza and wings that were both delicious!

Cream Bean Berry Ice Cream

What’s better than ice cream after a long day of hiking and exploring around Durango? Cream Bean Berry ice cream is located right on Main Street in Durango and is absolutely delicious! We tried several flavors, but the vegan peanut butter fudge was definitely our favorite!

81301 Coffee House and Roasters

81301 Coffee was our favorite of the coffee shops we visited in Durango – and we visited here a few times it was so good! It’s located a bit north of downtown, making it the perfect stop on your way up Highway 550 for many of the other activity items including the Purgatory Resort, Honeyville, & driving to Silverton.

Things to do near Durango:

Drive Part of the San Juan Scenic Byway by taking Highway 550 to Silverton

Altitude Warning: Driving the San Juan Scenic Byway will take you high up in elevation (about 10,000 feet) and if you aren’t from Colorado and used to being at higher elevations, you may encounter elevation sickness. Be prepared for the oxygen to be a bit thinner, and drink plenty of water!

Pinkerton Hot Springs

The Pinkerton Hot Springs isn’t somewhere that we actually recommend soaking as the water isn’t very warm (although there were a few people soaking there), we do feel it makes for unique photo opportunity that’s worth a quick 5-10 minute stop. This colorful mound is around 6 feet tall and is built from a piped hot spring which with mineral-rich water cascading down the mound, leaving behind vibrant hues of orange, red, and tan.

Coal Bank Pass

As you drive up Highway 550 toward Silverton, there will be many beautiful stops to make along the way. We personally loved stopping at Coal Bank Pass as it sits at 10,640 feet in elevation and had the most stunning mountain views. We pulled out our binoculars and were able to see a few waterfalls off in the distance and watched some wildlife as well. There are also some bathrooms here, which are definitely needed when you are making a scenic drive spending hours taking your time enjoying all the stops.

Andrews Lake

A bit further up the road from Coal Bank Pass you will find Andrews Lake, sitting around 10,800 feet, this alpine lake is a scenic fishing and picnicking area. If you are also an avid hiker interested in high-alpine hiking there are some hiking trails that begin here like the Crater Lake trail.

Molas Pass

Molas Pass is definitely one of the most scenic stops along Highway 550, sitting just 5 miles south of Silverton and at a high peak of 10,910 feet – these panoramic views spanning the San Juan Mountains are just gorgeous! This stop features two small alpine lakes, is a great entry point for hiking the Colorado Trail, and is kept open year round for all season adventures. There is a large parking area, and bathrooms here.

Altitude Warning: At nearly 11,000 feet, the air is thin and temperatures are significantly cooler than in the valley. Dress in layers, and be prepared for potential altitude sickness.

Red Mountain Pass

Red Mountain Pass is just past the town of Silverton so if you feel like making a bit of an extra drive – this is well worth visiting. Not only does the mountain range look completely different with hues of red and orange coming through, you can also see remnants of an old mine from here, making this a stunning scenic area with a ton of history. This is also the highest peak of the drive sitting at 11,018 feet.

Visit Mesa Verde National Park

Take a Guided Tour of one of the Cliff Dwellings

There is no better way to explore Mesa Verde National Park than to explore one of the cliff dwellings. We were lucky enough to snag some tickets to see the largest cliff dwelling – not only in the park – but in all of North America – Cliff Palace!

Note: Tickets for the Cliff Dwelling tours go on sale 2 weeks prior to the date you are choosing at 8:00am MDT on recreation.gov and sell out very quickly! We logged in as soon as the clock hit 8:00am and there were already only 7 spots left for the tour we wanted so be sure to log in right on time to grab your tickets quickly!

If you have extra time in the Durango area:

Continue your scenic drive by driving the Million Dollar Highway to Ouray

If you’d like to extend your trip a bit further, we highly recommend driving into Ouray Colorado and spending some time here. We did a trip here a few years ago before we were blogging and this area is just gorgeous – it is the Switzerland of America after all.

Visit the 4 Corners

Located just an hour and a half away from Durango, the 4 corners monument can easily be added to your itinerary while visiting the Durango area. If you are choosing to visit Mesa Verde National Park as well, then it’s only a little less than one hours drive from Mesa Verde.

Check out our Wanderlog map for a full list of recommendations for things to do in/around Durango!

Feel free to download our free 3 days in Durango itinerary to make your trip planning easier for you!