The Wild West meets the Gold Rush meets the Rockies: scattered throughout Southern Colorado are communities that began their lives as raucous gold mining towns and now have morphed into historic mountain towns that are centres for all kinds of outdoor adventures. I spent time in four: Gunnison, Crested Butte, Silverton and Durango.
Gunnison’s rich history is on display at the Pioneer Museum, including a Denver & Rio Grande steam train. Crested Butte nestles in an Alpine valley below a host of 14,000 foot peaks: a ski resort in winter and a hiking and mountain biking mecca in summer. I explored the nooks and crannies of this Shangri-La by bike.
Silverton is an old silver-mining boom town nearly 10,000 feet above sea level where the Old West seemed very much still alive, complete with a stage coach on the dirt streets.
And Durango, the main town of SW Colorado, where I discovered the delights of the dining, shopping and adventure options in this feel-good, funky town. I was sure that John Wayne was just around the corner as this has been the location for many famous movies including “How the West was Won”, “Around the World in 80 Days” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.
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