Durango -- A Vacation Getaway for the Adventurous Traveler

By Jeaneane Payne

General Palmer Bed & Breakfast Inn It's the little touches that make the General Palmer unique -- freshly baked muffins each morning and Teddy Bears on every bed. Rich in history the hotel offers quiet sitting areas where you might choose to read, or relax, after a busy day.

Take a ride back through time behind a 125 year old, historic coal-fired, steam-powered locomotive. View the breathtaking sights as the train winds from the Animas Valley through 46 miles of the San Juan National Forest to the old mining town of Silverton, CO.

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is just one of the reasons you should consider a Durango getaway.

Vallecito Lake, surrounded by millions of acres of unspoiled San Juan National Forest, is a playground for fishing, camping, horseback riding, hunting, hiking, boating and relaxing. Known as the "Lake of the Little Valley" Vallecito is sheltered in a secluded mountain valley 8,000 feet above sea level. It is one of the largest and most beautiful bodies of water in Colorado.

With 2.5 million acres of public lands in southwest Colorado, getting to know Durango is about recreating in the out-of-doors. Enjoy world-class mountain biking and hiking on hundreds of miles of trails; golfing, whitewater, hot springs, rafting/kayaking/paddle surfing, backpacking, rock-climbing, horseback riding, skiing, snowboarding, dog sledding, snowmobiling and so much more! Durango is a veritable playground of outdoor adventure.

If you want to get a little wild, whoop it up at a rodeo for bone jarring bare back riding, classic saddle bronc riding, bull riding, hilarious rodeo clowns and gymkhana. Check out a dude ranch, enjoy a hayride or a stagecoach ride in the summer and a cozy sleigh ride in the winter.

The Durango area has been said to possess the largest per capita domestic horse population in the country. Durango has also earned the title of Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Community and "Mountain Biking Mecca" with miles of single-track and dirt roads.

Road biking is very popular, with Durango gaining national recognition with its annual Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, where thousands of road bikers race the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to Silverton. Soar through the tree tops of an alpine river valley in a century-old forest on a canopy tour at Soaring Tree Top Adventures®. Want to go higher? Hitch a glider ride with the Durango Soaring Club.

Downtown Durango is a Nationally Registered Historic District with historic hotels, award winning restaurants, fabulous art galleries and museums, eclectic shopping and uniquely Durango events.

West of Durango, Mesa Verde Country is the archaeological center of America. This area is home to Mesa Verde National Park, the Ute Mountain Tribal Park, Hovenweep National Monument, the Anasazi Heritage Center, and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center.

Top off your Durango getaway with a visit to its numerous galleries and museums. The new Durango Discovery Museum is a state-of-the art museum offers hands-on science + energy exhibits, historic interpretation exhibits, Sudden ScienceTM, Solar RollerTM, a museum shop and café, energy demo labs and workshops. Housed in the country's oldest surviving coal- fired, steam-generated AC power plant, the museum's interactive discovery and science exhibits promise to "ignite curiosity, spark imagination and power exploration."

Published April 10, 2011.

Images by Sven Brunso
Image by Bar D	Image by Yvonne Lashmett	Image by Sven Brunso

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