Silverton (Colorado)

Silverton is a small town in San Juan County in Southwestern Colorado. Once famous for its mining resources, it is now becoming famous with the extreme sports set, for a famously tough endurance run (the Hardrock Hundred) and a ski resort that focuses on giving skiers a back-country experience.

Get in
Silverton is on US 550, the famed "Million Dollar Highway" that connects Durango and Ouray, passing through incredible mountain scenery and over several high passes. However, most visitors to Silverton arrive instead by railroad, specifically the Durango & Silverton Narrow-Gauge Railroad, +1-888-872-4607. This scenic line originates in Durango and runs along the Animas River, with a few stops along the way at trailheads for hiking and backpacking. The depot in Silverton is a short walk from the downtown area.

Get around
The town is tiny, and from the train station you'll be able to get to anywhere in town by foot or bike within minutes. (Allow a little extra time for walking because of the 9000-foot elevation.) If you're venturing into the hinterlands, consider renting a jeep from one of these outfitters:
 * Red Mountain Motel, RV Park and Jeep Rentals, 664 Greene St., +1-888-970-5512 or +1 970 387-5512.
 * Silver Summit, 640 Mineral St., +1-800-352-1637 or +1 970 387-0240.
 * Triangle Jeep Rental , 864 Greene St., +1 970 387-9990 or +1-877-522-2354.

See
If you arrive via the narrow-gauge and will be departing the same day, you won't have time for much more than a walk around the many historic buildings downtown. The town maintains a web site with a recommended route and information on the history of the buildings, many of them photogenic.

Buy
Souvenir shops line Greene Street, the main drag through town, and "Notorious Blair Street" to its east. Silverton is not a manufacturing city (to put it mildly) and produces few durable goods of any value, but like many Colorado mountain towns, it supports an arts-and-crafts community of sorts, and you may find something artsy-craftsy of interest amid the tourist trinkets.

Eat
Restaurants in Silverton live a hand-to-mouth existence (so to speak) because of the very small population base during the off season. Make sure to check locally to be sure that your chosen restaurant is still in business.

Go next

 * If you arrived by car, make sure to drive the Million Dollar Highway some distance beyond town before continuing on your way, whether heading north or south. The scenery is superb, with a number of pullouts (notably at the summit of Molas Pass south of town and Red Mountain Pass to the north) where you can pause and drink it in.  There are also a number of fine day-hiking possibilities that are accessible from side roads leaving the Highway.  Some require high-clearance vehicles to approach, but most can be reached by passenger cars.  (Tread carefully; this is high country, and altitude sickness is a real possibility, as are dangerous thunderstorms in the summer and avalanches in the winter and spring.)
 * Creede, Lake City, Ouray and Telluride (the latter a noted ski resort) are other mountain towns nearby, each with its own Rocky Mountain color.
 * Durango is about 50 miles south, and Mesa Verde National Park another 80 or so miles beyond it to the west. Both are worth a visit.