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Heading to Durango/Pagosa Springs in March

Posted on 7/16/23 at 2:50 pm
Posted by young moonlight
New Orleans
Member since Dec 2008
543 posts
Posted on 7/16/23 at 2:50 pm
Only thing planned is a day or two skiing , riding the train and hitting the springs. Anything else that y’all recommend doing/seeing/eating in the area?

Thanks!
Posted by Bama Bird
Member since Dec 2011
Member since Mar 2013
19073 posts
Posted on 7/16/23 at 3:12 pm to
If you haven't been to the 4 corners, Durango is probably the closest you'll ever find yourself. It's about an hour and a half from there, but it's a beautiful drive. I stayed in Durango before going there a few years ago
Posted by cgrand
HAMMOND
Member since Oct 2009
38905 posts
Posted on 7/16/23 at 4:20 pm to
mesa verde NP if you’ve never been. Incredible. Canyon of the ancients also outside Cortez is well worth a look

Posted by 4LSU2
Member since Dec 2009
37346 posts
Posted on 7/16/23 at 6:29 pm to
Durango/ Silverton railroad
Royal Gorge of the Gunnison

Posted by Shexter
Prairieville
Member since Feb 2014
13957 posts
Posted on 7/17/23 at 11:04 am to
quote:

riding the train


For the best views, get the cheaper, open air car. The higher end cars are closed in with windows.

Also, rent a Silverton Jeep BEFORE you get to Silverton and go explore the many trails and abandoned mines in that area. They will usually be booked ahead of time, so don't wait until the train drops you off.
Posted by vistajay
Member since Oct 2012
2510 posts
Posted on 7/17/23 at 2:31 pm to
Just got back from that area. It's beautiful.

Durango is nice for some main street shopping and a couple of breweries.

Pagosa Springs is a quaint town. Riff Raff Brewery was very good, for food and beer. The hot springs resort itself is just ok but I'll grant that getting into a small, hot, fetid pool with a bunch of tatted up strangers might not be my thing. Others seemed to like it, and many of the pools did have nice views of the river. The pools ranged from 100 to 111 degrees. You have to buy all food and drink there. Food was OK. Drinks were a bit weak so I switched to beer.

Definitely go to Mesa Verde NP. Do the tour of the Cliff Palace dwellings. You get to go right up in it with a NP guide. Reservations open 2 weeks before online, and you have to be quick to get one.

Posted by TeddyPadillac
Member since Dec 2010
25773 posts
Posted on 7/17/23 at 3:38 pm to
Do NOT go to 4 Corners. i repeat, do NOT. Complete waste of time and MONEY.
Mesa Verde isn't far away and is nice to spend a half day at. You have to book in advance if you want a guided tour. If you plan on going there, be sure to look into that. Not sure what you can actually do their in March though with the snow.

Durango's downtown area was nice. Check out the Strater Hotel. interesting little old time saloon you can have a drink and some lunch in.
The Crepe place, dont' recall the name but it's just a food truck, is supposed to be the best place to get somethign to eat in Durango.
We had good pizza at Fired Up, and tacos next door at Switchback. Fired up had this smoked mozzarella and jalapeno dip that was amazing.

If it's possible, i'd recommend driving to Ouray and spending a day there instead of spending an absorbent amount of money on the train ride. Ouray has a community pool that's all heated by hot springs. it's a small water park basically with several pools, and all of them are around 100F. Has 2 or 3 small slides for kids and a rock wall in the water. Also has an adults only pool.


Pagosa is a nice little town, much smaller than Durango. you can hit up the hot springs and i'd recommend eating at Riff Raff on the river. They have good beers and the food is surprisingly very good. they have this sour cream type dip for their chips that is fricking awesome, and their jalapeno cream cheese burger is pretty good. there will be plenty of places nearby to get some gummies and what not if you're into that.
and make sure to eat at The Rose for breakfast, and be hungry when you go there b/c you're going to be full when you leave.
Had some good pizza at the Break Room Brewery as well.
This post was edited on 7/17/23 at 3:41 pm
Posted by cajungoalie
Baton Rouge
Member since Oct 2008
521 posts
Posted on 7/17/23 at 4:08 pm to
No to the four corners..just...no

Yes to Mesa Verde, pretty close to Durango, others mentioned getting the tickets they go quick online

Agree that a drive to Ouray from Durango is spectacular and Ouray is my favorite place in America, but that drive on the Million Dollar Highway(US 550) from Silverton to Ouray in March could have a major pucker factor especially for a flatlander. Gave me the sweats on a sunny day in July.

Silverton and Ouray have lots of side by side and jeep rentals a and plenty of trails, or guided jeep trails where a local drives the jeep, but most of those are closed in March I think.
Posted by Gorilla Ball
Member since Feb 2006
11771 posts
Posted on 7/21/23 at 1:58 pm to
We are considering moving to pagosa springs in retirement
Posted by Sus-Scrofa
Member since Feb 2013
8179 posts
Posted on 10/16/23 at 6:27 pm to
Did Mesa Verde.That’s a pretty solid operation.

The drive through the park is nice. And even if you don’t buy tickets, seeing all the Pueblo structures from the overlooks is cool.

I also drove the whole San Juan Skyway. Very nice drive. The million dollar Highway portion is crazy. Kind of wish I hadn’t been the one driving so that I could take it all in.

Didn’t realize the Coors logo Mountain is by Telluride.
This post was edited on 10/16/23 at 6:29 pm
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