Silverton
1257 Blair St, Silverton, CO
Silverton, CO
A frozen-in-time mining town high in the San Juans, where a steam train still pulls in and the peaks rise straight from the end of Main Street.
Silverton is one of Colorado's most atmospheric historic towns, a former silver-mining camp preserved high in a valley of the San Juan Mountains. Nearly two miles above sea level and ringed by peaks that rise straight from the edge of town, it feels like a place the twentieth century largely passed by.
The town boomed in the late nineteenth century when silver and gold poured from the surrounding mountains, and much of its late-Victorian main street survives intact. Today Silverton is the northern terminus of the famous Durango and Silverton narrow-gauge railroad and a gateway to some of the wildest high country in the state, drawing history lovers and mountain adventurers alike.
What Guests Love
- The well-preserved 1880s main street of false-front buildings
- The arrival of the historic steam train from Durango
- A ring of jagged peaks rising straight above the town
- Access to old mines, alpine four-wheel-drive roads, and high-country trails
Worth Knowing
- The town sits very high, so take it easy at first as you adjust to the altitude
- The steam railroad runs seasonally; the fall color season is especially popular
- The mountain roads in and out, including the Million Dollar Highway, demand careful driving
- Winters are long, snowy, and quiet, with fewer services open
Details
Silverton, CO
Learn about Silverton
A mining town preserved
Silverton grew up in the silver rush of the 1870s and 1880s, and at its peak it thronged with miners, merchants, saloons, and all the rough energy of a boomtown. When the mining eventually faded, the town did not boom into something new but held onto its historic character.
The result is a remarkably intact late-nineteenth-century townscape, its main street lined with false-front stores, old hotels, and brick and clapboard buildings. Notorious Blair Street, once packed with saloons and dance halls, still runs parallel to the respectable main street, a reminder of the town's wilder days. Much of Silverton is recognized as a National Historic Landmark District.
The train and the mountain roads
Silverton is the mountain terminus of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, whose steam trains climb up the Animas River canyon from Durango and pull into town, a highlight for many visitors. The whistle and smoke of the arriving train are a living link to the mining era.
By road, Silverton is reached over dramatic high passes, including the cliff-hanging Million Dollar Highway to the north. From town, rugged four-wheel-drive roads climb to old mines and alpine basins, and this remote, spectacular setting has made Silverton a base for jeeping, hiking, and backcountry adventure.
The high country around town
Silverton sits at the heart of the San Juans, among some of the most rugged mountains in Colorado. Old mine structures, tumbling waterfalls, and alpine lakes fill the surrounding basins, and trails and rough roads lead into a world of tundra and towering peaks.
In winter the area draws those seeking deep snow and backcountry skiing at a famously challenging local ski area, while summer opens the passes and high roads. The scenery is a constant, with the peaks changing character through the seasons but always looming close above the town.
The Ute homeland and the seasons
These mountains are the ancestral homeland of the Ute people, whose descendants form the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute nations of the region today. This high country was theirs long before the miners came, and their connection to it endures beneath the layers of mining history.
Silverton's high altitude shapes its year. Summers are short, cool, and busy with train passengers and adventurers, autumn blazes with aspen gold, and winters are long, deep with snow, and very quiet, when many businesses close and the town settles into a hush beneath the white peaks.
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 Silverton
Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
Terminus in town
A historic steam railroad climbing the Animas River canyon between Durango and Silverton.
Ouray
About 24 miles north
A dramatic town ringed by cliffs and waterfalls, reached over the Million Dollar Highway.
Molas Pass
About 6 miles south
A high scenic pass on the San Juan Skyway with sweeping mountain and lake views.