Durango Colorado, USA

Fall break this year was two nights at Casa de Ice in Santa Fe, then north into the San Juan Mountains for three nights in Durango. Durango is a great town for us because it’s close to Santa Fe. It’s beautiful, not too expensive, easy, and it has great character. It isn’t as fancy as Aspen or Telluride, and we kind of like the charm of that. The aspens were changing, and the best of it turned out to be a mine train and a saloon. Durango is an old railroad and mining town with a real Main Avenue, and everything worth doing with kids was within an hour of where we stayed: up the highway to Purgatory and Silverton, or down the road to the hot springs.

Where we stayed, and why north

We did this one on HomeExchange, a two-story condo at Tamarron, the Glacier Club, about 25 minutes north of downtown and 10 minutes south of Purgatory. We really like staying north of town. Purgatory, Silverton and Spud Lake are all up the highway from there, and downtown is 25 minutes the other way. The club has indoor and outdoor heated pools and a hot tub, and the girls got their pool time in. Kids 15 and under swim free; adults are $10 a day.

James Ranch Grill is eight minutes down the highway from Tamarron, on a working family ranch under red sandstone cliffs. The burgers were amazing: grass-fed beef off the ranch you’re sitting on, and seed-oil free. Expect a long wait. It’s counter order, no reservations, and it was kind of annoying, but it’s a really good and really cool place. Off-season it’s open Wednesday to Sunday, 11 to 7:30.

The road to Spud Lake

Heads up on getting to Spud Lake: oh my gosh, the drive. You turn off US-550 past Purgatory onto Old Lime Creek Road, and the last three miles to the trailhead are off-roading, plain and simple. You need a 4x4 with clearance. It’s tight and rough, and the girls thought it was wild. Go slow. The payoff is that the road runs past a string of beaver ponds with lily pads and rock slabs, and in early October the aspens around them were changing. The hike itself is easy, about two miles round trip through aspen groves up to the lake.

The aspens down here, between Purgatory and Spud Lake, were prettier than anything we saw up on the pass. If you’re chasing color, start low.

The day we’d tell you to copy

Silverton. Start with breakfast at First Tracks Coffee and Snacks, a really cute coffee shop just below Purgatory on US-550: blue trim, a brick wall, a rug and a crocheted throw on the couch, and a guitar in the corner that Jamey ended up playing. Then drive north over Coal Bank Pass to the Molas Overlook, where Silverton sits in the valley below with the peaks behind it. It’s a quick stop, and it’s where we got our family photo. Andrews Lake is right off the highway just below the pass, an easy walk around an alpine lake.

Lunch in Silverton was Golden Block Brewery, the pizza place on Greene Street, and they had good gluten-free pizza. Then the girls did a lot of shopping. Silverton is super fun to walk around.

Then the Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour, about five miles east of town, and it was fantastic. Hard hats and raincoats on, and a vintage mine train takes you a third of a mile into Galena Mountain. What a trip, going deep inside a mine. Our guide was an old man who was hilarious, the ultimate miner. The kids loved it.

Gold panning is included after, in sluices outside the mine, and you keep what you find. JJ has always wanted to pan for gold, so this was a big one. Tickets are $32 for adults and $16 for kids 5 to 14, no reservations; get there 30 minutes before a tour. Mind the calendar: in fall it runs hourly from 10 to 3, and the season ends October 15.

Drive home the way you came and stop wherever the aspens make you. We didn’t get all the way to Ouray this time.

Sunday: hot springs, then the saloon

Durango Hot Springs was great. We loved it. It’s a big spread of natural mineral pools set into rock, with a family side by the swimming pool and an adults-only side. Open 9 to 10 daily, and you have to book a soak time online ahead.

Then downtown. Walk Main Avenue in the afternoon, and end up at the Diamond Belle Saloon in the 1887 Strater Hotel, 699 Main. It’s a really cool old saloon, and on Sunday night it had a bluegrass band that was just freaking fantastic. We hung there for about three and a half hours. The waitresses dress up like old-time saloon girls, and Rosie and JJ got red sodas with a cherry on top. The Sunday house band is the Blue Moon Ramblers, listed for 6 to 9. Go on a Sunday on purpose.

What we didn’t get to

The Durango & Silverton train, the famous one. We heard it all weekend. It’s a full day up the canyon to Silverton, and on a short trip we didn’t want to give up a whole day, and it was pretty crowded. It’s first on the list for next time, along with the rest of the Million Dollar Highway to Ouray.