Wyndham Wisdom

Colorado's Wild West Town

With its friendly people, great pubs and primo bike trails, Durango is cool year-round

On a recent Friday night down at the Irish Embassy, Durango's newest pub, the Guinness was flowing, bikes were parked two deep against the stone facade, and a lively little jig crackled through the speakers. Young families, sunburned cowboys, college girls and dudes with dreadlocks crowded the floor and sat elbow-to-elbow-ambassadors for Colorado's coolest mountain town.

This is a title not casually bestowed. Colorado practically invented the idyllic mountain community, rife with fresh-faced, sporty types and stunning alpine scenery. There are a half-dozen or so high-altitude zip codes that fit the mold-Telluride, Aspen, Steamboat, Crested Butte-but none as convincingly as Durango. Set at 6,500 feet in a river valley between the jagged San Juan and La Plata mountains in the southwestern corner of the state, this town of 16,000 has a sunnier, milder clime than its northern neighbors. And thanks to the 4,000 Fort Lewis College students, it's as lively as a city twice its size.

The attraction is easy to see: Durango's world-class mountain-biking trails are magnets for some of the sport's top athletes and amateurs. You can float, fish or swim the Animas River, which flows right through town; scramble the tiered mesas that rise just blocks from Main Avenue; or hop the Durango-Silverton narrow-gauge railroad and head north into the San Juan high country. An hour to the west, the sandstone cliffs of Mesa Verde shelter some of the country's oldest and best-preserved Anasazi cliff dwellings, dating back more than 800 years.

But the biggest draw by far is the locals. "Durangatans," as they sometimes call themselves, are a uniformly happy and welcoming lot. Wander the historic downtown, lined with 100-year-old brick storefronts, and you'll see them whizzing past on their bikes or on foot, quick to smile or offer directions to the nearest trailhead. And after a weekend spent soaking up the contagious Durango cheer, you'll feel a little like a local yourself.

RIDE LIKE A DURANGATAN

When the nonprofit Trails 2000 group began building and maintaining backcountry trails outside town in 1989, it helped put Durango on the map as a mecca for the booming new sport of mountain biking. Today, cycling is Durango's dominant culture, with 70 miles of world-class single-track right out the back door, a critical mass of resident pros and what's said to be more bikes per capita than any other community in the country. "Durango is mountain biking," says Russell Zimmermann, who fell in love with the town 17 years ago as a college student and then had to figure out a way to stay. (He bought a bike shop.) Not surprisingly, mountain biking is bred into the gene pool: A cycling organization called Durango Devo trains more than 140 local kids how to ride and race-starting in kindergarten.

So what's the best way to sample Durango's bicycle bounty? A good place to start is Hassle Free Sports, where you can rent a full-suspension mountain bike. Then, for your first ride, longtime resident and former world champion Ned Overend recommends stretching your legs-and your lungs-at Horse Gulch, part of a 30-mile trail network in the high-desert scrub on the mesa just east of downtown.

You could bike all weekend without losing sight of downtown, but then you'd miss Durango's signature ride: Hermosa Creek Trail, a fast and famous epic that starts at the Durango Mountain Resort ski hill and descends 20 miles along Hermosa Creek, traversing rocky ledges, ponderosa forest, open meadows and numerous creeks.

Back in town, unwind with an easy spin along the Animas River Trail, a paved bike-and-walk path that winds five miles along the river. Afterward, stay on your saddle and cruise Main Avenue for dinner and drinks like the locals do. "In summer, whenever I ride into town to meet friends for a beer, I always look to see whose bikes are locked up out front," says Zimmermann. "I know who rides what."

RAILS TO THE TRAILS

Before Durango was a biking epicenter, it was a railroad town, settled in 1880 as a station stop on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. In 1882, the company ran a set of vertiginous tracks 45 miles north to the remote mountain town of Silverton to haul silver and gold ore via steam train. Today, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad still slogs the same route, climbing up the Animas canyon amid some of the most gorgeous, and rugged, alpine terrain in the Rockies.

The summer train leaves the Durango depot at the south end of Main every morning, its locomotive loaded with coal, sending up plumes of smoke and steam into a cobalt sky. By lunchtime you'll be in Silverton, at 9,300 feet, a high, lonely outpost shadowed by snowy San Juan peaks. With its weathered frontier shops and wide, empty streets, this town of 550 seems stuck in another era. You'll have ample time to explore its compact historic district before making the downhill run back to Durango.

If you're tempted to linger, the D&SNGRR can be your ticket not just through the backcountry, but also into it. Pack your overnight camping gear and ask the conductor to let you off at Needleton, a blink-and-you-miss-it flagstop that offers hike-in access to the San Juan National Forest and Weminuche Wilderness. From Needleton, it's a steep seven-mile trek to 11,200-foot Chicago Basin, a lovely high meadow just below the timberline. Camp here for the night and then hoof it back to the tracks to hop the southbound train. Proper flagging etiquette: Wave your hands horizontally across your knees-and don't forget to stand on the east side of the tracks. 

WATERWORKS

The Animas, Piedra, Vallecito and Los Pinos rivers begin as snowmelt in the San Juan high country, and by the time they rush into the valleys of southwest Colorado they've widened into the region's biggest free-flowing waterways-a liquid playground for Durango locals. In mid-summer, the Animas runs clear and brisk, making it the perfect place to cool down after a day of adventuring. Take the plunge in the deep, sandy swimming hole behind Durango High School, or reserve a spot on an organized raft trip. Higher up, near Silverton, the Animas is a raging, thrill-a-minute Class V torrent, but by the time it hits Durango it has mellowed into a relaxing float.

These waters also offer incomparable fly-fishing. Anglers wade for brown and rainbow trout all year long in the Animas (it gets really good after runoff ends, in July). An hour south of Durango, the blue-ribbon San Juan River (just below Navajo Dam in New Mexico) has earned a reputation as one of the most prized fishing waters in the world. The trout are so plentiful that you'll be catching and releasing almost as much as you're casting.

MESA VERDE

Now it's time for headier pursuits: contemplating how a culture of Native Americans built elaborate cliff dwellings on an imposing mesa 800 years ago-and why they inexplicably left. Thirty-five miles west of Durango, Mesa Verde rises like a ship's prow, snub-nosed and blocky. From A.D. 600 to 1300 it was home to the Ancestral Pueblo people. Stand on the canyon rim and peer down at Spruce Tree House, the best preserved of Mesa Verde's dwellings, with 90 percent of its sandstone structure still intact, and try to imagine it as it was a thousand years ago.

For a closer look, wander among the ruins, tucked into a natural amphitheater in the cliff face that's shady and cool even at midday. The Ancestral Puebloans used those flat-bottom rocks, called mano, and the smooth stone trays, or metate, to grind the corn they farmed on the mesa tops. Wriggle down a narrow ladder into a damp, cool ceremonial kiva and scan the mortared walls for 700-year-old thumbprints. A three-mile-loop hike on the Petroglyph Point Trail, overlooking Spruce and Navajo canyons, leads through strikingly sparse juniper and pinon forest, still charred from the massive 2002 fires. At the far end you'll arrive at a panel of ancient rock art-a reminder, not that you need one, that this corner of Colorado holds timeless appeal.

EAT

SEASONS ROTISSERIE & GRILL
A Durango institution, this busy American
bistro serves simple, locally sourced dishes
like braised Colorado lamb shank, paired
with a glass of Sutcliffe wine, estate-grown
in nearby McElmo Canyon. 764 Main Ave.;
970-382-9790; dinner for two, $100*

EAST BY SOUTHWEST
A pan-Asian restaurant (Thai, Vietnamese
and Indonesian) with a formidable sushi
bar. The avocado-wrapped caterpillar roll
draws raves and the sashimi platter is so
fresh you can practically taste the Pacific.
160 E. College Dr.; 970-247-5533;
dinner for two, $80

BREAD
Fuel up on green chile or ham-and-cheese
croissants at this cheerful, always-crowded
bakery, a favorite meet-up for cyclists
heading out on a ride. A few homemade ginger
snaps-chewy and not too sweet-stashed in
your pack will tide you over till lunch. 42
County Rd. 250; 970-247-5100; breakfast
and goodies-to-go for two, $12

STEAMWORKS BREWERY
Don't be put off by the crushed peanut shells
on the floor or the corn cobs scattered across
the next table. With a dozen handcrafted
beers on tap-including the award-winning
Third Eye Pale Ale-and favorites like Cajun
Boil on the menu (a heaping platter of crabs,
shrimp, sausage and sweet corn), this is as
authentic a brewpub as you'll find. 801 E.
Second Ave.; 970-259-9200; boil 'n beer
for two, $50
*Prices cover a meal for two, not including drinks, tax or tip.

PLAY

HASSLE FREE SPORTS
Rent mountain bikes, road bikes or cruisers,
and pick up trail maps and tips for riding
Horse Gulch and Hermosa Creek. 2615 Main
Ave.; 970-259-3874; hasslefreesports.com;
half-day bike rentals from $25

DURANGO-SILVERTON
Narrow-Gauge Railroad
Make a day out of riding the train to Silverton,
departing Durango at 8:15 a.m. and returning
at 5:30 p.m. 479 Main Ave.; 877-872-4607;
durangotrain.com; roundtrip tickets from $79

DURANGLERS
This renowned fly shop has been guiding half-,
full-, and multiday fishing trips on area rivers
for anglers of all levels since 1983. 923 Main
Ave.; 970-385-4081; duranglers.com

FOUR CORNERS RIVERSPORTS
Advanced and expert rafters can sign up for
a Class V rafting trip on the Upper Animas;
less experienced rafters can navigate the
Class II-III Lower Animas through Durango.
360 S. Camino del Rio; 970-259-3893;
riversports.com; guided river trips from $30

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK
Explore centuries-old cliff dwellings with
a national park ranger or on your own.
970-529-4465; nps.gov/meve; $15 per
vehicle; guided tours, $3

STAY

RCI-AFFILIATED RESORTS IN AND AROUND DURANGO INCLUDE:
PURGATORY VILLAGE CONDOMINIUM HOTEL
AT DURANGO MOUNTAIN RESORT, Durango
WYNDHAM DURANGO, Durango
WYNDHAM PAGOSA, Pagosa Springs
For more information, visit RCI.com or call:
Weeks: 800-338-7777
Points: 877-968-7476