What a cool mountain town. If my wife and I ever won the lottery, we'd retire here. The climate is ideal, there are flyshops and sporting goods stores on every corner, there are panoramic views, and all the residents are outdoors-minded. This is where the high desert meets the mountains and the cowboys meet the skateboarders. You can reach Durango in a day's drive from Amarillo or Denver even though it is tucked into the southwestern corner of Colorado (the Four Corners Region). There is shopping galore—and not all of it just for the missus.
Fisheries:
Within a couple of hour's drive, anglers can reach some of the top trout waters in the nation, including the Animas, San Juan (the upper and that sorta famous section in New Mexico), Piedra, Pine, Florida, Dolores, Rivers, Vallecito, Lemon, and McPhee Reservoirs. You are also not far from the San Miguel River near Telluride, a fine dry fly stream in its own right.
Digs:
If you have been a bad boy (tsk, tsk), make it up to your significant other by checking into the Victorian splendor of the Strater Hotel in downtown Durango (800-247-4431). If you have been a good boy (bully for you), you could get by with checking into the Iron Horse Inn (888-354-3143).
Eateries:
The best Mexican food in town is found at Gazpacho's (970-259-9494), but if you have the time and the moolah to treat your wife and family to a special meal, there are none better in the West than the woodfire-spit-and-grilled meats of the Seasons (970-382-9790).
Article © Mark D. Willliams, 2001.
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