Photo: PurgatoryResort.com
Every year, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is a doozy. Family is visiting, kids are out of school, people take off work — it’s arguably a busier time of year than even the Thanksgiving weekend.
There are so many fun things to do in Durango over the holidays, it’s tough to narrow it down, but here are some special events that should land on your calendar.
Purgatory Resort is offering scenic snowcat tours. Now that’s not something you get to ride in every day. The tour includes a chairlift ride on Purgatory Village Express, a ride in a snowcat that take passengers around the mountain and delivers picturesque views and some hot chocolate to keep everyone warm. The tour is $50 per person, and reservation are required. Tours are available at 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Dec. 22-30 and at 2:30 .m. Jan. 1-7.
For those who are feeling even fancier, a dinner version of the snowcat tour is also available. Passengers ride in a snowcat up to Powderhouse Restaurant, enjoying views of the Needles Mountains along the way. The meal starts with a champagne reception followed by several courses that include hors d’oeuvres, salad, soup, entree, dessert and two drinks. At $150 per person, the experience isn’t for kids — but maybe for mom and dad or the in-laws. The dinner snowcat excursion is available Dec. 27 and Dec. 29 and reservation are required 48 hours in advance by booking online or calling 800-525-0892.
For those who plan to spend Christmas Day on the slopes, they can sit down to a family-friendly Christmas dinner at Purgy’s at either 4 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Reservations are required for the the buffet-style feast. Reservations required.
Kennebec Cafe will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 24 for Christmas Eve brunch, from 5-10 p.m. that night for Christmas Eve dinner and on Christmas Day from 5-9 p.m. Call 970-247-5674 for reservations.
This is a fun one for the whole family: snow sculpting! Bundle up the kids and bring the thermos with something warm to watch as artists carve a block of snow and create amazing snow sculptures in the plaza at Purgatory Resort. The sculptures will be on display Dec. 26-29.
Strap on the snowshoes to experience Purgatory in whole new way: during a guided snowshoe tour! The evening tour starts at 3:30 p.m. (guests should arrive in the plaza by 3 p.m.) to ride the chairlift to the Powerhouse where they’ll enjoy a picnic with wine, cheese and hot cocoa before setting out on their snowy excursion. The skiers will be gone for the day, so snowshoers will have the mountain all to themselves! The cost is $65 per person. Call (970) 385-2147 to reserve your spot.
While you’re in spending Christmas in Durango, spend it with us at the Durango Quality Inn, where our guests are family. The Quality Inn Durango is one of the top-rated hotels in Durango, so book your room today before we’re booked up!
Photo: Purgatory Resort
“Things to do in Durango: The Christmas Break edition” is sort of like the 1995 movie “Things to do in Denver When You’re Dead,” except with a more festive title. And a lot less Andy Garcia.
But still, there’s no need to kill yourself trying to figure out how to keep sugar-powered kiddos entertained during the long, school-less stretches of winter break. Whether they’re your kids or the nieces and nephews who will be visiting from out of town (may we suggest having them stay with us at the Durango Quality Inn? You won’t regret it), here are some fun kid-friendly winter activities when you’re looking for things to do in Durango over Christmas break.
Purgatory’s Snow Coaster Tubing Hill offers three lanes of high-speed downhill tubing for the whole family. (Children 6 and older can ride a tube by themselves, but children 3-5 must ride with an adult.) Tubers must rent a tube from Purgatory before hiking to the hilltop and screaming down the snow-packed tubing highway. Tubes are $10 per hour to rent, and tubers cannot bring their own sleds or tubes to use the tubing hill. Purgatory also has lights on the hill for evening tubing fun! Call 970-385-2168 for more info.
Hesperus Ski Area also has a tubing hill with walk-up access to groomed trails. Tubers can rent tubes by the hour at the ski area, which is a short 15-minute drive west of Durango on U.S. Highway 160. Call 970-259-3711 for more info.
Chapman Hill is a great in-town alternatives that offers a great downhill slope for snowsports of all kinds: skiing, snowboarding and tubing. Two tow-rope lifts make getting to the top of the ski hill a bit easier, and day pass prices range from $4 to $12 based on age.
Another in-town option that’s free is the tubing hill in Buckley Park in downtown Durango. Tubers can bring their own tubes and sleds and go for a few runs, just like in the good ol’ days. When you’re done and famished from all the fun, just walk a couple blocks to one of the amazing restaurants in downtown Durango
There’s nothing quite as postcard-perfect for Christmas break as going ice skating in Durango. In addition to the ski hill, Chapman Hill skating rink is a small, in-town spot for ice skating. In the wintertime, skaters can enjoy access to a refrigerated outdoor ice rink, which is used for rollerblading in the summer. Skaters can take advantage of all the amenities the Chapman Hill pavilion offers, including concessions, restrooms, room rentals and a sitting area.
Sure, a sleigh ride through the forest may not be a casual afternoon activity to keep the kids busy on a long, school-less stretch of wintertime, but there’s no denying that a sleigh ride in Durango is a memorable and festive outing for the family. Two nearby outfitters offer sleigh rides. Every evening, Buck’s Livery harnesses up teams of Belgian and Percheron draft horses to pull sleighs of 10-12 people through the winter landscape of the San Juan National Forest. Ben and Mindy Breed opened Buck’s Livery in 1983, and the stables are located just across and north of Purgatory Resort on U.S. Highway 550.
Rapp Corral offers a range of sleigh rides and tours on its five different sleighs, which include options for romantic two-person rides and group outings on large horse-drawn sleighs that can carry up to 10 strapping adults. (Rapp Corral will use more than one sleigh to accommodate larger groups.) The corral, which opened in 1984, is located about seven miles south of Purgatory Resort, just off Highway 550.
While you’re visiting Durango for the holidays, no need to search high and low for Durango hotels: Quality Inn Durango is the place to be. We’re on the north end of town, right on Main Avenue, so we’re a quick drive to downtown, or it’s easy to get out of town to head straight north to Purgatory Resort, Buck’s Livery and Rapp Corral. Book your room with the Quality Inn Durango today!
Sure, buying your Christmas tree at a corner lot, picking one up from the front of King Soopers or even opting for an an artificial one from the holiday section at Target is easy — or varying degrees of easy, anyway. But there’s nothing quite like cutting your own Christmas tree. Here are some options for Christmas tree cutting in Durango:
You can cut a Christmas tree in San Juan National Forest for the cost of a permit: a mere $8. Not too shabby, eh? Each permit allows you to cut one tree up to 20 feet tall until Dec. 31. Bonus: Every fourth grade students can get a free permit if they have a valid “Every Kid in a Park” pass or a paper voucher that can be downloaded online. (Aforementioned fourth-grader needs to be present.)
National Forest permits are now on sale at several locations around Southwest Colorado. In Durango, Christmas tree cutting permits are available at:
By far the coolest way for you to cut Christmas trees in Durango is on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad’s Christmas Tree Train. The special Durango train is scheduled for Nov. 26-27, Dec. 3-4 and Dec. 10-11. The train will depart the downtown Durango depot and head to Cascade Canyon wye (the turnaround spot). There, passengers will disembark and head out into the surrounding San Juan National Forest to find their perfect Christmas tree.
The rules for Christmas-tree cutting are the same, except the San Juan Mo
untains Association will be on board to sell the necessary tree-cutting permits, which will still be $8 in addition to the train fare. Cutting overgrowth of small white firs will help reduce wildfire danger along the railroad corridor. SJMA and Firewise of Southwest Colorado volunteers along with the Durango train staff will help passengers choose and cut their own holiday tree at the Cascade Wye.
Hand saws will be provided, and trees will be loaded onto a special boxcar for the return trip home.When you’re done finding your perfect tree, you can warm up with a hot beverage by the fireplace at Cascade Canyon Wye or stroll to the footbridge over the Animas River.
You must book your reservation by phone at 1-888-872-4607 for the special Christmas tree trains.
Make it a Winter Wonderland getaway and stay with us at the Durango Quality Inn, consistently rated among the top Durango hotels. We’re right on Main Avenue in the heart of Durango and are surrounded by winter activities. Bring your winter gear for daytime excursions and get snug and cozy at night in the Quality Inn Durango. Book your room today!
An assortment of chocolates from Animas Chocolate Co.
Black Friday. Small Business Saturday. Cyber Monday. I wonder if Sunday feels left out…?
For better or worse, the days after Thanksgiving Day seem to be all about shopping for Christmas. Black Friday in Durango will include all the usual big-box stores and sales, but in a small mountain town like Durango, Small Business Saturday is where it’s at.
Downtown Durango is a haven of locally owned stores, shops and boutiques, art galleries, artisans and artisanal foods. Here are some of our favorite locally owned businesses to patronize on Small Business Saturday (or whenever).
Sure, Halloween is a holiday that comes with bags of candy. Literally. Bags of candy. Christmas brings with it plenty of cookies and cakes and sweets and treats. But Thanksgiving Day. Oh, Thanksgiving Day. Any holiday where the central celebration is a big, ol’ meal is the best kind of holiday.
But not everyone can or wants to cook a meal of all the classic Thanksgiving dinner staples, or not everyone has a place to go where they’re serving up all the T-Day favorites. Easy enough. There are a few places to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner in Durango.
The Mahogany Grille at the historic Strater Hotel in downtown Durango will once again be serving up its famous Thanksgiving Day buffet. The restaurant’s legendary spread includes the must-haves: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes and more. But it also features some less-traditional deliciousness, such a fresh fruit display with pineapple and papaya, and even a children’s station with chicken fingers and PB&Js. Reservations are a must for this Durango Thanksgiving dinner tradition. Make your reservations online today or call 970-247-4433 to secure your spot in the buffet line and at the dinner table.
Durango has a strong and proud Thanksgiving tradition. For 30 years, the Durango Community Thanksgiving Dinner has provided Thanksgiving Day food and fellowship to all who come — free of charge. Last year, volunteers served more than 1,200 meals at the La Plata County Fairgrounds and delivered more than 100 meals to individuals’ homes. The Durango Community Thanksgiving Dinner is possible solely because of people’s generosity: both generosity with their money and their time. The meal is funded entirely by donations and prepared, cooked and served entirely by volunteers. The Durango Thanksgiving meal organizers are now accepting volunteers; call 970-259-4061 to volunteer. To make a donation, mail a check payable to Durango Shared Ecumenical Ministries to Tonya Wales, Thanksgiving Dinner c/o FUMC, 2917 Aspen Drive, Durango CO 81301. To enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving Day meal in Durango? Just show up to the La Plata County Fairgrounds. Food will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., or until it runs out.
In nearby Ignacio — about a 30-minute drive southeast of Durango — Sky Ute Casino will be hosting a Thanksgiving Day buffet starting at 11 a.m. The spread will include roast turkey and honey-glazed ham, shrimp and salmon, mac ‘n’ cheese, yams, stuffing, sweet potatoes and classic desserts such as pumpkin pie and pecan pie. Reservation are required. Call 888-842-4180 to reserve your spot today.
If you’ll be visiting Durango for Thanksgiving, or if you need a place to stash your in-laws while they’ll be visiting you for Thanksgiving, Durango Quality Inn is the place for you. Come stay with us at the Quality Inn Durango, just a couple blocks from the La Plata County Fairgrounds and only a couple miles north of downtown Durango. You’ll be thankful you did!
Cliff House at Mesa Verde National Park. Photo: NPS
Every year it’s the same thing: When children have a break from school, it’s hardly a break for parents who are left scrambling to find fun things to do in Durango for kids. This Thanksgiving break is no different, whether you live in Durango or will be visiting Durango for Thanksgiving.
We feel your pain. Durango has a ton of great stuff to do with the kiddos, but here are some things to do in Durango on Thanksgiving break:
Just because the kiddos won’t be in school doesn’t mean they can’t learn some new things — and they don’t even have to realize it. The Powerhouse Science Center (formerly Durango Discovery Museum) is packed with fun, educational exhibits that allow kids to learn about all sorts of science-y stuff. The center is housed in a historic coal-fired, steam-generated power plant on the banks of the Animas River, making it the perfect setting to learn about energy, physics and technology through a wide range of hands-on exhibits and interactive programs.
Your kids will have a couple days off school, but you can still send them to class — a restored 1908 classroom, that is, complete with wood desks and slate boards. That’s one of the many exhibits at the Animas Museum, which is housed in the original 1904 Animas City School building. The museum features exhibits that delve into the history and heritage of Durango and Animas County, such as “Law and Disorder,” which tells the true story of life in the Wild West, and the Native American gallery that showcases selections of pottery, baskets, beadwork and weavings from tribes in Four Corners region.
Mesa Verde National Park is open every day of the year except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. That means it’s open the all those days before and after Thanksgiving that your kids will be out of school and talking about how boooooored they are. Pack ’em up in the car and take ’em to Mesa Verde, quite possibly the coolest place in Southwest Colorado. The National Park Service starts scaling back its hours as well as the frequency of tours, hikes and programs in early September, but that just means now is the perfect time to go and avoid those summer crowds. Mesa Verde is home to 5,000 known archeological sites of the Ancestral Pueblo people who lived there between 600 A.D. and 1300 A.D. The park preserves and protects about 600 cliff dwellings, several of which are open to the public for tours. Guided tours of Cliff Palace, Balcony House and Long House are available, although Spruce Tree House is currently closed due to concerns about rock falls, and Step House and Long House close to tours after Labor Day.
Although the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, the Durango train will be running its special Polar Express train the day before Thanksgiving and Friday, Saturday and Sunday after. The Polar Express trips often sell out, so you should reserve your seats today. The Polar Express train will make its debut trip on Nov. 19 and will run through Jan. 3. During the ride, passengers of all ages will enjoy hot chocolate, a special treat and Christmas carols well as a reading of The Polar Express story as the train makes its way to the “North Pole” to pick up Santa. On the way back, Santa visits kids in each car, and each kid will receive a special gift from Santa.
Whether you’re in town visiting family for Thanksgiving and are looking at Durango hotels, or you have family in town that you need to get out of your house, the doors at the Quality Inn Durango are always open! Check out the Durango Quality Inn and book your room today for your Thanksgiving vacation.
Certain events are tradition, and certain days are holy: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hesperus Ski Swap…you know, the usual.
Just as Easter marks the beginning of spring, the annual Hesperus Ski Swap marks the start of ski season in Durango. This year is Hesperus Ski Patrol’s 53rd annual ski swap, and it will be held Saturday, Nov. 5, at the La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave. in Durango, Colorado (just four blocks south of the Durango Quality Inn).
Shoppers can browse and buy from more than 10,000 items and are sure to find something they need (“need” being loosely defined and possibly subject to spousal approval). Nearly 20 vendors from Colorado, New Mexico and Utah will showcase and sell their new and used ski and snowboard gear at unbeatable prices. In addition to the vendors, private individuals will be selling and swapping their own equipment. But the selection isn’t limited only to ski and snowboard gear: Buyers can browse other snow equipment, such as snowshoes, as well as backcountry gear, hiking equipment, packs, car racks and plenty more.
People who want to sell their personal gear need to register during public check-in 3-8 pm. Thursday, Nov. 3, at La Plata County Fairgrounds. The cost for individuals to sell their goods is $1 per items, and each item must have a minimum price of $5. Those who want to sell can download a form online and fill it out prior to public check-in night.
The ski swap is the Hesperus Ski Patrol‘s annual fundraiser, and the event relies on volunteers to make it happen. The ski patrol is looking for volunteers for Thursday, Nov. 3, through Sunday, Nov. 6. Volunteering comes with some great perks, including a free T-shirt and admission for you/your family into the swap’s Friday night Pre-Swap Sale! The pre-game event runs from 5-8 p.m. and gives volunteers a crack at all the goods before the sale opens to the public. (In order to get the benefits, each volunteer must work one full shift.)
As we mentioned, the county fairgrounds are just a few blocks from our hotel, the Quality Inn Durango. If you’ll be coming to town for the ski swap — or just to spend the weekend — book your room with us today!
Photo: Purgatory Resort
Ski bums and snow bunnies, get your boots out and your wax on: Ski season is nearly upon us. We know you’ve been counting down the days since, well, since closing day, and now it’s nearly here. Opening. Day. The four sweetest syllables to the snow-sports lover’s ears.
Opening day at Purgatory Resort is Nov. 19, and the resort is opening with a slew of new improvements. The resort added a new ski lift and a new trail on the backside of the mountain (check out a map of the new trail and location of the new lift). Purgatory is upgradin
g its snowmaking system to be more productive and efficient, and the resort’s hazard tree mitigation project will not only enhance tree skiing at the resort, but also improve forest health.
This winter, Purgatory’s Power Pass includes unlimited skiing and snowboarding at five mountains: Purgatory, Hesperus, Arizona Snowbowl, Sipapu and Pajarito with no blackout dates. Power Pass holders also get three free days of skiing at nearly 20 partner mountains, including Masella Ski Resort near Barcelona, Spain, and Boulder County’s Eldora Mountain Resort.
Wolf Creek Ski Area has the earliest (possible) opening day of all: Opening day at Wolf Creek is tentatively slated for Nov. 4. Wolf Creek Ski Area is known to have “The Most Snow in Colorado” because it receives anywhere from 350 to 420 inches of snowfall every year. But the ski area is also known for its stunning hike-in terrain. The ski resort is located in the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests just outside Pagosa Springs, about an hour and a half east of Durango.
This winter, like every winter, Hesperus Ski Area will open a bit later than its snowier peers; Hesperus opening day is projected for mid-December. But don’t get it McTwisted: The ski area a longtime favorite among locals for good reason. Hesperus Ski Area is only 11 miles west of Durango, and it offers 160 skiable acres 26 trails and an average of 150 inches inches of snowfall every year. Hesperus is best known for night skiing and riding — and as home to the Hesperus Ski Patrol — but it also offers tubing, rentals and ski and ride school.
Durango Quality Inn makes a perfect base camp and ski lodge for your Southwest Colorado ski vacation. We are centrally located among the three area ski resorts: Hesperus is 14 miles due west of the Quality Inn Durango on U.S. Highway 160. Pugatory is a straight shot 25 miles north of our Durango hotel on U.S. Highway 550. Wolf Creek is the longest trek, about 1.5-2 hours east of Durango near Pagosa Springs. For all your ski and snowboard plans, be sure to stay with us at the Quality Inn Durango. Book your room today!
The Polar Express train. Photo by Yvonne Lashmett.
The Conductor. The Hobo. The elves. And, yes, Santa himself. They’re all aboard the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad‘s Polar Express train, and you should be, too!
Based of the classic children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg — and made into a classic Christmas movie in 2003 — the themed trip is the Durango train’s premier special event of the year. It’s a favorite with kids and just as magical for grownups, so it sells out quickly, especially on certain cars and on certain days (like Christmas Eve).
The Polar Express train will make its debut trip this holiday season on Nov. 19 and will run through Jan. 3.
During the ride, passengers of all ages will enjoy hot chocolate and a treat served by personal chefs as well as a reading of The Polar Express story as the train makes its way to the North Pole (cough, Cascade Canyon wye, cough) to pick up Santa. On the way back to Durango, Santa will stop in each car to visit with the kids, and each kid will receive a special gift from Santa. Passengers can also sing along to Christmas carols!
This year, the Durango train is featuring something new and something super special: official Polar Express pajamas. When you book your tickets for The Polar Express, you can opt to get a pair of button-front, two-piece pajamas, available in both children’s and adult sizes. Durango train staff will ship out PJ packages weekly so you can be sure to wear yours during the ride.
Your Polar Express pajamas will come in handy somewhere else, too: at the Durango Quality Inn! We’re just 2 miles north of the downtown Durango depot, and we make for a snug wintertime sleepover after the trip to the North Pole. If you’re looking for Durango hotels, look no further; book your room at the Quality Inn Durango today and pack your PJs!
Today is the last day of September, which means tomorrow is the first day of October, which means we can FINALLY, officially bust out the Halloween decoration. Oh, who are we kidding? We started decorating in, like, August.
But seriously, we really love Halloween. Heck, everyone loves Halloween in Durango. We do it up right in our mountain town, from showings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show to kid-friendly trick-or-treating in downtown Durango. Here are some of the best things to do in Durango for Halloween:
Just four short miles north of the Quality Inn Durango on U.S. Highway 550, River Bend Ranch knows how to do Halloween right (and fall in general). Per its name, the ranch sits on the Animas River in the Animas Valley, where guests can take a horse-drawn wagon ride to an open meadow and warm up afterward by the ranch’s fire pit, where you can also toast your own s’mores. But the highlight is the Straw Bale Maze: eight-foot-tall walls of straw bales make up a meandering maze so guests can really get “lost” inside and really savor those s’mores when they get out. The ranch is open for fall activities from 5 p.m. to dark every Friday, and from 1 p.m. to dark Saturdays and Sunday through Nov. 6th, plus Halloween! Admission is $10 per person; children under 5 are free; and group rates are available. The ranch is located at 27846 Highway 550, Durango, CO.
Richard O’Brien’s “Rocky Horror Picture Show” once again returns to the Henry Strater Theatre this Halloween as “Rocky Horror Show – Live On Stage” but this time with a Durango Twist! The 2016 theme is “Rocky Gets Western.” Join in on the Time Warp in O’Brien’s cult classic, pop culture, science fiction glam rock and quirky comedy the Rocky Horror Show! There will be two showings at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28 and 29, with doors opening half an hour before, and an 8 p.m. show Sunday, Oct. 30. For tickets or more information, visit the Henry Strater Theatre website.
To get in the spooky mood, catch one of two showings of the award-winning British theater production of “Frankenstein” back at the Animas City Theatre. Academy Award®-winner Danny Boyle directed this creepy Frankenstein production that features Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternating roles as Victor Frankenstein and his creation. The production was a sell-out hit at the National Theatre in 2011, and the broadcast has since become an international sensation. Showings are 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, and 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 29.
Every Halloween, downtown Durango shops, restaurants and businesses open their doors to Durango’s littlest ghosts and ghouls for a fun, safe Durango trick-or-treating experience. Children’s Halloween in downtown Durango starts at 4 p.m., Monday, Oct. 31 (that’s Halloween, just in case you were wondering) and runs to 6 p.m.. Nearly 100 businesses participate, and the event is free for kids 10 and younger who come in costume accompanied by an adult (adult costumes optional).
We here at the Durango Quality Inn love Halloween! Stop in to say “Boo!” or make a long weekend of it and stay with us at the Quality Inn Durango.
Durango Quality Inn – 2930 Main Street, Durango, Co 81301 – (970) 259-5373 – gm.co405@choicehotels.com 