COME TO LIFE / Spirit of the Southwest T WINTER FUN Purgatory just outside Durango is emerging as one of the nation’s top ski destinations, with affordable packages and a low-key vibe. Silverton Mountain is the state’s highest and steepest ski mountain, serving up un-groomed expert terrain, while those seeking lower-key affairs head to Kendall Mountain Ski Area near Silverton and Hesperus near Durango. Just 23 miles from Pagosa Springs, visitors and locals alike flock to Wolf Creek Ski Resort to ski and ride “the most snow in Colorado,” with an average of 430 inches of natural (not manmade) snowfall per season. Beyond the slopes, Duran-go, Silverton and Pagosa Springs all take advantage of their deep San Juan Mountain powder with endless trails perfect for backcountry snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, sled-ding and snowmobiling. Silverton Museum and Jail . If you extend your stay in Silverton, you have plenty of options for enjoy-ing the surrounding San Juans, including Jeep and OHV tours, rafting, horseback riding, amazing day hikes up to Ice Lakes Basin (5) or the waterfalls of Cunning-ham Gulch , and the ghost towns of Eureka and Howardsville . Thanks to a wealth of historic and scenic 4x4 roads that lace through the surrounding mountains, the area is incredibly popular for Jeep and ATV tours. Summer and fall offer glimpses into seldom-accessed fields of wildflowers and autumn color. Hundreds of miles of groomed trails await in the winter months. Durango was named one of Outside Magazine ’s best new adventure hubs for its access to skiing, whitewater, fishing, hiking, byways and mountain-bike trails. Visit the town’s Main Street welcome center to find out how to access all that recreation. Just 40 minutes away, consider visiting Vallecito Lake , one of the state’s largest and most spectacular, with plenty of fishing, boating, hiking, Jeeping, snowmobiling and other activities. The Vallecito Creek Trail hike is located near beautiful Vallecito Reservoir and is great for all ages. Back in Durango, make plans for excellent eats at the town’s new 11th Street Station food-truck co-op, serving everything from sushi to coffee. 6 DAY 2 East of Durango, Pagosa Springs offers record-holding deep min-eral waters, used by The Springs Resort and Spa (3) (known for a luxurious yet family-friendly feel), as well as Overlook Hot Springs and the Healing Waters Resort & Spa right in town. To the west, find Chimney Rock National Monument ’s other-worldly rock formations and Ancestral Puebloan history, or seek out Pagosa’s San Juan River riches with rafting, kayaking and tubing — including a two-mile shuttle-served stretch with new features right in town — and fishing adventures, ATV tours, 2.5 million acres of wilderness and national forest, 650 miles of trails, the Wolf Creek Pass (6) drive, waterfall and wildflower hikes and camping. Williams Creek Reservoir is a gorgeous lake surrounded by mountains, popular with fishers, mountain-bikers and picnickers. There’s also 30 miles of incredible singletrack in Turkey Springs Rec-reation Area . The Dakota Springs trail system is another patch of well-designed singletrack, and features 3 miles of new trails In town, there’s a new urban singletrack trail system, climbing/ bouldering park and skatepark, not to mention three craft breweries and a handful of great restaurants. Stop by the visitor center for trip-planning services, and look for brochure racks around downtown, which are plush with trail maps and area information. Visit durango.org/crafted-beverages for a Crafted Bev-erages of Southwest Colorado tour, which leads past nearly 30 independent and unique breweries, distilleries, wineries and cideries in all three of these towns and beyond. STAY & PLAY OPTIONS Arboles , Bayfield , Durango (page 196), Ignacio , Pagosa Springs (page 202), Silverton (page 205), Vallecito Lake (page 206) R SUMMER AT SKI RESORTS Durango’s Purgatory Resort is a summer play-ground, with mountain-bike rentals, lifts and trails, as well as kids camps, a mountain coaster and alpine slide, scenic chair lifts, ziplines, ropes courses, stand-up paddleboarding and so much more. Ignacio is a ranching community located in a long val-ley bordered by the La Plata Mountains. Today Ignacio supplies the adjacent Southern Ute Indian Reservation and ranches scattered throughout this remote area. The Southern Ute Tribe, a descendant of two of the seven original Ute tribes that inhabited Colorado, is headquartered just north of Ignacio, but its reservation spans more than 680,000 acres. The modern Sky Ute Casino Resort , one of the tribe’s economic mainstays, is very popular with visitors. The casino features gaming halls, hotel rooms and restaurants. Recreational spots include Navajo State Park , which provides ample opportunity to enjoy water sports — jet skiing, house boating, fishing — and the reservation’s top trout-fishing hole, Lake Capote . 128 / 1-800-COLORADO CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: NEAR WOLF CREEK PASS, KENNAN HARVEY; NAVAJO STATE PARK, ERIC LINDBERG; WOLF CREEK SKI AREA, DOUG CHAPIN. SIDETRIPS
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2019: Page 128
