How lucky we are to live in Colorado and have such incredible places to visit within the state. Durango is a 6.5 hour drive from Boulder and a beautiful spot to check out!!

We timed our trip perfectly, arriving in the afternoon about an hour before a massive snow storm came in. Overnight we recorded 25” of fresh snow…25”!!! That’s on top of the snow they already there!

Activities

It’s been years since I went snowboarding. Though I’m sure it’d be like riding a bike, i wasn’t ready to strap on the boots and head up the mountain. (Which I slightly regret considering the amount of snow that dumped!) My point being, there are a TON of activities to check out in Durango even if you’re not a skier/snowboarder.

Durango Hot Springs & Spa:

My ABSOLUTE favorite activity we did while staying in Durango. The Durango Hot Springs & Spa has 32 natural mineral hot spring soaking pools kept at various temperatures, heated by the earth, the water springs from the well at 120 degrees. Bookings are for 2 hours each and they’re open until 10pm so you can enjoy a night soak after a long day of skiing/snowboarding. They also have a spa on site! I recommend bringing your own towel.

Shopping

Downtown Durango has so many cute little boutiques and spots to checkout. I recommend walking down Main Street and grab a coffee at the Durango Coffee Co. Here are a few of the boutiques I checked out and liked too: Lively & The Sparrow Mercantile.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

I was sooooo bummed we didn’t get a chance to experience this but we’re definitely going back for this!! Check out their schedule to make sure you don’t travel to Durango on an off time for this activity. From what I understand, the railroad experience is an all day event that takes you all the way up to Silverton! Bring your camera!!

Click for Tickets to Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Go Snowshoeing

Durango has a TON of snowshoeing trails. Check them out here:

Visit Durango: Snowshoe Trails

Drive to Silverton
If you don’t do the Narrow Gauge Railroad to Silverton, then definitely head on over via car. It’s about an hour and half outside of Downtown Durango. So many beautiful spots to check out along the way. Most everything had FEET of snow, yes I said FEET, along the way. There is a hike called Glacier Creek that was recommended to us on a less snowy adventure.
Though we didn’t experience it ourselves, we were told that you often will see a Moose or two in Silverton by the creek, so be on the lookout.

Drive Further to Ouray (Switzerland of America) on the Million Dollar Highway:

What an incredible, beautiful and scenic town. If time allows on your trip, I HIGHLY recommend driving down the Million Dollar Highway. I honestly don’t know if photos do it justice, it’s just an experience to see the beauty. The drive to Ouray from Silverton takes about 30 - 45 minutes but you’ll want to allow time to stop off on the pull outs.

Creek Walk

This is where I saw the deer and they were so friendly!! Just on the other side of town, the creek runs along a path. Though it was pretty cold, we enjoyed walking through the area.

Horse & Carriage Rides

I saw these going by and they were so cute! It was a little on the chilly side for us to jump on this activity but I would be all over it in the Spring/Summer time!

Stay tuned for the remaining 2 parts of our trip to Durango!