Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
1050 Main Ave, Durango, CO
Durango, CO
A coal-fired steam train that has climbed the Animas River gorge into the San Juan Mountains on the same rails for well over a century.
The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is one of the last coal-fired, steam-powered narrow-gauge railroads still running as it did in the 19th century, and a ride on it is a trip back into the age of Colorado silver. The train pulls out of downtown Durango behind a genuine steam locomotive and climbs north up the Animas River into the San Juan Mountains, ending in the old mining town of Silverton nearly two miles above sea level.
The line was built in the 1880s to haul silver and gold ore down out of the mountains, and it has run on the same rails, through the same spectacular gorge, more or less continuously ever since. The most famous stretch clings to a rock shelf blasted into a cliff high above the river, a piece of engineering that still makes passengers catch their breath. It is both a working piece of history and one of the great scenic train rides in North America.
What Guests Love
- Riding behind a genuine coal-fired steam locomotive
- The stretch where the tracks cling to a cliff high above the Animas
- Watching the desert give way to alpine forest as you climb
- Wandering the historic mining town of Silverton at the top
Worth Knowing
- The full round trip is a long day, so plan for most of a day out
- Bring layers; the high country is much cooler than town
- Open cars mean cinders, so pack sunglasses and expect some soot
- Winter runs a shorter route toward Cascade Canyon, not to Silverton
Details
Durango, CO
Learn about Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
Built for silver
The railroad was completed in 1882 by the Denver and Rio Grande, built specifically to carry rich silver and gold ore down from the mines high in the San Juan Mountains around Silverton to the smelters and rail connections at Durango. Silverton sits in a bowl ringed by peaks, and the only practical way to move its ore was down the narrow gorge of the Animas River, so the line was cut through some of the most rugged terrain in Colorado.
The mines around Silverton produced a fortune in silver ore, and the town boomed with it, but mining is a boom-and-bust business, and the ore eventually played out. What saved the line was its scenery. Even as the freight dried up, tourists kept riding to see the gorge, and by the second half of the 20th century the railroad had reinvented itself as one of the country's premier heritage steam excursions, carrying passengers rather than ore.
The gorge and the high line
The journey north from Durango follows the Animas River, and the drama builds as it goes. The valley narrows into a deep gorge, and at the stretch known as the High Line, the tracks run along a shelf blasted into a sheer cliff, hundreds of feet above the river below, with nothing but air on the downhill side. It is the single most famous section of the line and the reason the ride is unforgettable.
As the train climbs, the country changes with the elevation. Durango sits in high desert and ranch land, but the tracks rise steadily into forests of aspen, spruce, and fir, past waterfalls and cascades, and finally into the open, treeless high country near Silverton. In a few hours the ride carries you through several life zones, from cactus and juniper to alpine meadow.
Silverton at the top of the line
The train's destination, Silverton, sits at roughly 9,300 feet in a high mountain valley ringed by peaks, one of the best-preserved mining towns in the West. Its wide main street of false-front buildings and its side streets of old miners' cabins look much as they did in the boomtown years, and the whole town is a National Historic Landmark. Passengers have time to walk its streets, eat, and browse before the return trip.
Silverton is also the high end of the famous Million Dollar Highway, the dramatic stretch of the San Juan Skyway that switchbacks over the passes toward Ouray. Whether you arrive by rail or road, the town offers a vivid sense of what it took to wrest silver from these mountains, and of the hardy people who did it.
Durango, the town at the bottom
Durango grew up around the railroad in the 1880s and still wears its Victorian roots proudly, with a downtown of ornate brick buildings, historic hotels, and a main avenue that leads straight to the depot. It has become a lively basecamp for southwest Colorado, drawing hikers, bikers, rafters, and skiers to the surrounding country, but it keeps the flavor of the railroad town it began as.
Beyond the train, the area around Durango is rich in things to do. The Animas River runs right through downtown for rafting and fishing, mountain-bike trails climb into the hills, and the ancient cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde and the mountains of the San Juan Skyway are within easy reach, making Durango a natural hub for a longer stay in the region.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Durango
Silverton
The northern end of the line
A well-preserved high-altitude mining town and National Historic Landmark, reached by the train or the Million Dollar Highway.
Animas River
Runs through downtown
A lively river cutting through the center of Durango, popular for rafting, tubing, and fishing along the riverside trail.
Mesa Verde National Park
About 35 miles west
Ancient Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings preserved in canyon alcoves, one of the great archaeological sites in North America.
San Juan Skyway
Begins in town
A dramatic mountain loop drive over high passes, including the famous Million Dollar Highway toward Ouray.