The wife and I are taking a road trip to Durango for spring break. We do not ski. We want to enjoy the mountains and snow. I want to make several day trips to take in the sights. Any tips on where to go and what to see would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

1- You can stand in 4 states at one time in the 4 corners area west of Durango / Cortez.

2- Mesa Verda is an eye opener on the Native American culture of years gone by:

http://www.explorefourcorners.com/index.html

3- The narrow gauge train is fun :

http://www.durangotrain.com/?utm_sou...colorado+train

I will post more as I think of them..

 

You will be thoroughly unimpressed. I wouldn't suggest driving there unless you were passin through...

I second the train though...

 

Train!.......I agree.

 

Go hang in Ouray for a day for sure and hit Telluride as well. The drive from there down to Durango along the Dolores river is great.

 

As mentioned you have the train right in town best to check the schedule
http://www.durangotrain.com/ride-us/...08-09-schedule

Mesa Verde National Park 35 miles
http://www.nps.gov/archive/meve/clif...lings_home.htm

Hovenweep National Monument 80 miles
http://www.nps.gov/hove/

Monument Valley National Tribal Park 140 miles
http://navajonationparks.org/htm/monumentvalley.htm

Canyonlands National Park Needles District 100 miles (just north of Monticello)
http://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/needles.htm

Moab 150 miles Arches National Park, Deadhorse Point State Park, Canyonlands National Park Island in the Sky District
http://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisi...ndinthesky.htm
http://www.nps.gov/arch/
http://www.utah.com/stateparks/dead_horse.htm

4 Corners National Monument 100 miles
http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/fourcorners.htm

Canyon De Chelly National Tribal Park 160 miles
http://www.nps.gov/cach/

Mileages are approximate and one way. Some may be too far for a day trip while others will be no big deal for a day trip. Remember that it is winter time here and that not everything will be open like you might expect. For example Mesa Verde which will certainly still be worth seeing, some of the sites/ruin tours will be closed. I also second/third the notion that if you really want to see 4 corners wait until you are driving by it do not make a special trip to it while it is neat it is far from some scenic beauty that you cant live without.



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Thanks for the suggestions! Your personal experiences are better than any book. This will be my first trip to this part of the country and I'm really looking forward to it.

 

Just a few pics from the trip.

 

sigh ......... I miss home


Glad you had a nice trip.

Cheers,
PISTOL