Qualla: Durango, Colorado

Durango, Colorado: Introduction

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit CC BY-SA 3.0. When the Denver and Rio Grande Railway came pushing westward toward the San Juan mining district in 1880, the existing settlement of Animas City refused the railroad's demands. The railroad's response was decisive and ruthless: it would build its own town two miles south. General William J. Palmer, president of the railroad, along with investors William A. Bell and John A. Porter formed the Durango Trust, surveyed a townsite along the Animas River in September 1880, and began selling lots at $50 to $100 apiece. Buyers snapped up more than $15,000 in parcels in the first two days. By year's end, Durango had 2,000 residents -- six times the population of the town that rejected the railroad. Colorado's former territorial Governor A.C. Hunt chose the name, inspired by the similarity of the landscape to Durango, Mexico.

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Image: CC BY-SA 3.0

Durango, Colorado: Iron Rails to Silver Mines

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit pixelFire, CC BY-SA 3.0. The railroad arrived in Durango on August 5, 1881, celebrated with a parade, a free barbecue, races, and the governor's personal attendance. Construction on the narrow gauge line to Silverton began that fall, pushing through the Animas River gorge and climbing 2,800 feet over 45 ...

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Image: pixelFire | CC BY-SA 3.0

Durango, Colorado: Main Avenue and the Victorian Heart

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit User: (WT-shared) Charles at wts wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Durango's Main Avenue is a Nationally Registered Historic District that cuts through the downtown core, lined with galleries, boutiques, restaurants, and bars housed in Victorian-era buildings. At the avenue's south end stand two landmark hotels: the General Palmer and the Strate...

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Image: User: (WT-shared) Charles at wts wikivoyage | CC BY-SA 4.0

Durango, Colorado: Hollywood's Mountain Backlot

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit USEPA Environmental-Protection-Agency, Public domain. The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad began advertising the La Plata County area to Hollywood in the mid-1930s, and Durango has been appearing on screen ever since. The 1950 film A Ticket to Tomahawk, shot along the Silverton Branch, featured one of Marilyn Monroe's first on...

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Image: USEPA Environmental-Protection-Agency | Public domain

Durango, Colorado: Pedal Power Capital

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. Durango has produced an extraordinary concentration of world-class cyclists. The town's notable residents read like a who's who of American cycling: Ned Overend, Bob Roll, Greg Herbold, Missy Giove, Todd Wells, Howard Grotts, Christopher Blevins, Quinn Simmons, Riley Amos, and Se...

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Image: Public domain

Durango, Colorado: Gateway to the San Juan Skyway

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, Public domain. Durango sits at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 160 -- the Old Spanish Trail running east-west -- and U.S. Highway 550 running north-south. North of town, Highway 550 becomes the Million Dollar Highway, one of the most spectacular and nerve-wracking drives in Colorado, climbing th...

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Image: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided | Public domain