Durango Colorado Outdoor Adventure Guide
As Matt and Karen Smith would say…”Taking care of business.” Obligatory National Park Sign pic.
Durango Colorado is a town of 20,000 or so folks in Southwest Colorado that for the most part has a legend of being cowboy country and in close proximity to Mesa Verde National Park.
Truth be told we almost didn’t stay here at all. But we found an amazing deal with hotel points that we couldn’t pass up and we wound up spending eight days in the town/city (depending on who you ask) of Durango!
It was one of the most pleasant surprises I have encountered since becoming a full-time traveler in June of 2020 (Jill G prefers that language over nomad and it is kind of growing on me!) I LOVED Durango.
Cliff Dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park.
WHY?
Durango had almost every box check for me in what I love to do and experience in a community.
In this Destination Guide I am going to share what those items are and hopefully give you a head start in your time in Durango when you head there.
One reason I love traveling is when places just come up around the corner and give you a surprise experience you never saw coming. I hadn’t been to Durango since I was a little kid; I had no reason to think I wouldn’t enjoy my time there. I just had no idea how much I would LOVE IT!
Durango Colorado Hiking:
1. Mesa Verde National Park.
One of the neatest, and most important, of the National Parks to me because of its preservation and teaching of the Pueblo Heritage. The cliff dwelling tours are currently closed but you can still see them. We did a few different day hikes here as well that allowed us to explore SW Colorado while listening to a podcast done by a Pueblo Ancestor about their way of life and preservation of culture.
Squash, Beans, and Corn were the staples of their diet so we also made a meal on the American holiday known as Thanksgiving based around these ingredients in honor of the Pueblo.
Mesa Verde was a great visit and I will definitely go back to ladder down into a cliff dwelling! This park is less than an hour from Durango.
2. Animas Mountain Trail.
Great six mile RT trip hike located just outside of the main drag in town. I hiked up to the summit for sunrise and trail ran down for a wonderful morning workout. Closed during the winter for wildlife protection it’s a trail I would do weekly if I lived in town.
3. Sky Steps Nature Trail
Quick and fun hike you can take directly from downtown. I would do this after working a few hours at a downtown coffee shop.
The Animas River Trail connected our hotel to downtown Durango.
Durango Colorado Destination Guide Rundown!
Cycling/Road Running: The Animas River Trail is hard to beat! A nine mile paved path curving alongside the picturesque Animas River it was easy to leave the car at home all day and ride/walk into town.
Composting: A big item for me and a must have service for me to consider living in a community! The team from Table to Farm Compost was great and I would highly recommend their services if you live in Durango. Thanks for taking all of our food compost while in town!
Yoga: I took a heated class at The Sweaty Buddha and loved every minuted of it, lovely studio and flowing with your mask on only makes you appreciate the power of breath even more if you ask me!
Coffee: Durango Coffee Company was my main hangout spot but the town is filled with wonderful places to get down on some Joe!
Sunrise view on the Animas Mountain Trail in Durango.
Grocery: Durango Natural Foods Co-Op got all of our groceries ready as we headed to Zion National Park/Joshua Tree California while Zuma Natural Foods from nearby Mancos kept us nourished during the week (including fresh bread from a local baker that is in our Season 4 Podcast!)
Beer: How many craft breweries can a town of 20,000 people have? Well it is Colorado so a lot!
A few were Ska Brewing, Steamworks, and Carver. You won’t go thirsty in Durango if you partake.
Music: We actually heard our first set of live music since COVID19 and it was so refreshing and made us realize how much we miss live music. Head to the Diamond Belle Saloon in the historic Strater Hotel for a show that will make you realize that Durango does have a bit of cowboy culture after all!
Hot Springs: Yes a two hour session at Durango Hot Springs was an excellent way to spend a late Monday afternoon. Nearby Pagosa Springs also boasts the World’s Deepest Hot Springs if you dare!
Food: We had excellent pizza from Ska Brewing, veggie burgers and milkshakes from GrassBurger, and tacos from oh I don’t know just about every place in town that sold tacos!
Nearby: Telluride and Silvertwon are close, Great Sand Dunes National Park can be done as a day trip, Four Corners National Monument & Monument Valley are just around the corner, and you can get to the ski slopes of Colorado, the hot spots of New Mexico, the Red Rocks of Utah, and the Deserts of Arizona in less than a day.
The options are limitless!
Durango is a small town with all the amenities I like out of a big city. In fact it was the first place I had spent time in on this trip that was a total sleeper of a place that I found maybe I would enjoy living in for an extended period of time or a few months out of the year.
It has all that I enjoy and seek from a community and honestly it blew me away with how much I enjoyed it. The eight days were a pure joy and I look forward to coming back soon, next time for a longer amount of time.
I was able to write, do consulting, teach yoga, and explore safely and enjoyably. We did a photo hunt that we now love doing in each new community we enter, my food got composted, and I climbed some mountains.
And yes, I heard a human sing and play the guitar live. Even with a mask on it almost brought tears to my eyes when I realized the art of live music’s longest absence from my life since I was basically a baby.
THANK YOU Durango. THANK YOU!
THANK YOU reader. THANK YOU for reading. Plan a trip to Durango, you won’t regret it!
Because Adventure Feeds the Soul,
Mike
