Durango & Silverton Railroad- Durango, CO

The rail trip between Durango and Silverton defines scenic. Not only are both towns wonderfully quaint, the landscape between is breathtaking. There is nothing that is missed on this journey. Mountains, rivers, secluded lakes; dramatic turns and trestle bridges abound. It is the perfect opportunity to sit back, relax, and enjoy the pleasures of train travel- including the bar car.

Most people don’t think too much about railroads today, but few things were more important to the settlement of the Western United States. By 1869 the first transcontinental rail line was complete, Congress was practically giving away land to fuel westward expansion, and there were still fortunes to be made in the mining of gold and silver. Not so much for the miners, but life was good if you owned a mine or two. Durango was actually founded by the Denver and Rio Grande Railway in 1879 to serve the San Juan mining district.

The railroad arrived in Durango on August 5, 1881, with service to Silverton in place by 1882. It has been operating continuously ever since, not only hauling gold and silver ore down the mountain, but offering scenic rides since July of 1882.  The line continues to use vintage steam locomotives and passenger cars, which have been beautifully restored. Several of their trains are celebrities, appearing in movies such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Prestige.

There are several seating options, including a Presidential Class that includes passage in a private Victorian era railroad car; if you love vintage trains or are super fancy, you should absolutely spring for this option, but for everyone else, standard class in an open gondola car is perfect. You pick your actually seat in advance, so no need to worry about fighting for the perfect location on the train.

The trip from Durango to Silverton is 45 miles, and takes about 3.5 very enjoyable hours. Once you arrive, you have 2.5 hours to explore the town of Silverton, which is plenty of time to eat lunch and explore their historic district. There is no depot in Silverton; it was oddly blown up by a charge of dynamite in 1975, a crime for which no one has ever been convicted. Instead, the train pulls right into town, which is in itself a very cool experience.

The mines are long gone from Silverton, and so are most of the people, but the beautiful historic buildings remain. Laid out in a typical grid, it doesn’t take long to explore the town. You have the option to take a bus back to Durango, although I couldn’t imagine doing that unless crunched for time, or if travelling with small children. The trip back gives you an opportunity to see anything you may have missed, and enjoy a glass of wine or two as the scenery rolls by. Perhaps one of the best happy hour venues ever.