Durango owes its existence to a railway, and the railway still runs. In 1881 the Denver and Rio Grande built a narrow-gauge line up the Animas river canyon to the silver mines at Silverton, and the town was laid out to serve it. Today the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad still operates a coal-fired steam train over the same route, with black smoke, cinders and a long whistle echoing between the cliffs, and the depot on the edge of the old town is a major attraction. The main street, Main Avenue, with its brick Victorian buildings, saloons and the Strater Hotel, has changed little since the town's early years.
The town sits at about 6,500 feet, in the broad valley of the Animas, with the dark ridges of the San Juan Mountains rising to the north and the dry mesas of the Four Corners country to the south. About eighteen thousand people live here, and the mix of ranchers, students at Fort Lewis College, outdoor enthusiasts and tourists gives it a lively character. Craft breweries and coffee shops are plentiful. Fifty kilometres or so west lies Mesa Verde National Park, where Ancestral Puebloans built cliff dwellings in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and the park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
For riders, Durango is a starting point of the San Juan Skyway, a loop of about 380 kilometres through the mountains. The road north from the town follows the Animas valley up through Hermosa, climbs over Coal Bank Pass, about 10,640 feet, and Molas Pass, about 10,910 feet, then descends into Silverton. The curves are long and sweeping, the surface is smooth and the views of peaks and aspen forests are superb. Summer is the main season, with the high passes snowed over from late autumn to spring, and afternoon storms can bring hail and lightning, so early starts are wise.
Durango has fuel at several stations, repair shops and a good choice of places to eat, with Mexican and New Mexican cuisine featuring green chilli. Prices climb in summer, so reserve a room early. A slow walk along the river trail in the evening is a good way to relax after the saddle.