Durango, Colorado, United States

🇺🇸 The City of Durango is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College.

History The town was organized from September 1880 to April 1881 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG, later known as the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad) as part of their efforts to reach Silverton, Colorado, and service the San Juan mining district, the goal of their "San Juan Extension" built from Alamosa Colorado. The D&RG chose a site in the Animas Valley close to the Animas River near what's now the Downtown Durango Historic Business District for its railroad facilities following a brief and most likely perfunctory negotiation with the other establishment in the area known as Animas City, two miles to the north. The city was named by ex-Colorado Governor Alexander C. Hunt, a friend of D&RG President William Jackson Palmer, after Durango, Mexico, based on his favorable impression of that city resulting from a scouting trip undertaken on behalf of Palmer.

Palmer among other D&RG associates such as William Bell started a subsidiary company known as the Durango Trust to sell land and plan a Main Street, 2nd, and 3rd Avenue, and so on to organize the town, taking inspiration from how Palmer founded the city of Colorado Springs. Sales from the Durango Trust skyrocketed by the completion of the D&RG's Silverton Branch, and by 1885, Durango's business district had seven hotels and restaurants, eleven saloons, dancehalls and stores, two bakeries and blacksmith shops, and a variety of other businesses, also boosting the town of Silverton's population to 2,000 at the time.

The D&RG(W) and the Rio Grande Southern Railroad were vital resources to many places including Durango before the major introduction of the automobile, helping transport goods such as produce and mineral traffic in and out of the Southwestern Colorado area, and along with other businesses such as the Durango Smelter, immensely supporting the town's economy. However, the Great Depression and aftermath of World War II hurt the area's railroad industry. The Rio Grande Southern lost its contract to transport mail in 1951, and soon thereafter suspended operations. The D&RGW also ended their San Juan Express passenger service from Durango to Alamosa. However, the natural scenery along their Silverton Branch had been recognised as a major tourist attraction. In turn, the D&RGW introduced the major tourism industry into the Durango area, transporting visitors up to Silverton and back and attracting Hollywood into La Plata County for a time. Once the D&RGW ended up losing its freight traffic in 1968, the tracks from Durango east to Chama, New Mexico, and south to Farmington, New Mexico were removed, but the Silverton Branch remained in operation until 1981 when it was sold and became the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

There are significant archaeological sites surrounding the Durango area featured on the State and National historical registers, including: • Mesa Verde National Park, a World Heritage site • Chimney Rock National Monument, the most north-eastern known outpost of the Ancestral Puebloans • Durango Rock Shelters Archeology Site, a Basketmaker and Pueblo culture • Spring Creek Archeological District, a Basketmaker and Pueblo site • Talus Village, a Basketmaker site

Geography At the 2020 United States Census, the town had a total area of 10,946 acres (44.296 km²) including 1,533 acres (6.203 km²) of water.

Main Avenue Main Avenue is a Nationally Registered Historic District that cuts through downtown Durango and is home to galleries, boutiques, restaurants, bars, and other businesses. Two notable and historic hotels, The General Palmer and The Strater, lie at the south end of the avenue, near the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad depot. With its combination of historic architecture, entertainment, and shopping, Main Avenue has historically comprised the centre of Durango and is a popular year-round tourist destination.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Durango is known worldwide for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a heritage railroad that operates what was the Denver & Rio Grande Western's Branchline to the historic mining town of Silverton, Colorado, also still notably using historic D&RGW Steam Locomotives and other historic rail equipment.

Animas River Valley The Animas River Valley begins in the heart of the San Juan Mountains and runs through downtown Durango. It boasts gold medal fly fishing waters and is popular for whitewater rafting, kayaking and canoeing. On warm summer afternoons a popular diversion is to buy an inflated inner tube and float from Oxbow Park to Schneider Park or below.

Purgatory Ski Resort Purgatory Resort, located 25 miles north of downtown Durango, has 99 trails, 12 lifts, a vertical drop of over 2,000 feet, and more than 1,500 acres of skiable terrain. The resort features lodging, ski rentals, shopping, and dining. Purgatory is also a popular summertime recreation destination.

Snowdown Festival Durango is home to Snowdown, an annual midwinter event popular for its Parade of Lights and other events. The event lasts 5 days, with competitions and costumes.

Music in the Mountains Music in the Mountains is an annual classical summer music festival with performances at Purgatory Resort, Ft. Lewis College, in downtown Durango, and Cortez.

As of 2019, the festival is no longer being held at Purgatory Resort.

Durango Ragtime & Early Jazz Festival The annual Durango Ragtime & Early Jazz Festival features noted musicians from around the country. It is held in the Strater Hotel, a historic Victorian hotel in Durango.

Iron Horse Bicycle Classic Founded in 1972, the Iron Horse is a 61-mile bicycle road race held annually in Durango. Every year cyclists from around the world come together and race the Durango Narrow Gauge Train on its journey from Durango to Silverton.

Media Durango has a number of media outlets, which include The Durango Herald, 99x Durango, The Point, KDGO, XRock 105.3, KDUR 91.9/93.9, Four Corners Broadcasting (KIQX 101.3, KRSJ 100.5, KKDC 93.3, and KKDC AM 930) and many others.

Public Transportation Durango is served by U.S. Highway 160 (the Old Spanish Trail), running east–west, and U.S. Highway 550, running north–south. Part of U.S. 550 offers high-speed access (primarily a 4-lane, divided highway) to Albuquerque, New Mexico. North of Durango, 550 is nicknamed the Million Dollar Highway, and is part of the scenic San Juan Skyway.

Durango is served by Durango–La Plata County Airport (IATA code: DRO), a major regional airport for south-western Colorado, located near Ignacio, Colorado. The airport is serviced year-round by regional carriers Mesa Airlines (American Eagle), SkyWest Airlines (American Eagle and United Express), Republic Airways (United Express), and Envoy Air (American Eagle).

As of 2014, regional connecting hubs to DRO include Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), and Denver International Airport (DEN).

Durango Transit provides several loop bus routes in the community, including Fort Lewis College. Normal hours of operation are weekdays from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm. Ignacio Road Runner provides bus service to the nearby towns of Ignacio, Colorado and Bayfield, Colorado, with four trips daily on weekdays and one on Saturdays. Both services share the Durango Transit Center as a hub.

Greyhound Lines formerly served Durango, but after budget cuts, the service was discontinued. Since 2014, Road Runner Transit (a service of Southern Ute Community Action Programs) has restored daily bus service between Grand Junction and Durango. Since 2018, Road Runner's service has been incorporated into the larger mantle of the state-run program Bustang.

Colleges • Fort Lewis College is on a 350 foot (110 m) mesa overlooking downtown Durango and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. As of 2014, 4,028 students were enrolled at FLC. FLC is a public 4-year liberal arts college. • Southwest Colorado Community College, a branch of Pueblo Community College, is in the Durango Highschool building on North Main Ave.