Durango 5th Graders Share Why They Love Durango

In Durango there are some amazing National Parks. There is Mesa Verde, which is precisely what the name implies: beautiful greenery on top of a mesa, with alcoves carved out by years of trickling water, and finished with some ancient ancestral Puebloan dwellings painfully made by hand, nestled in almost every alcove big enough for them to be sheltered. In addition to Mesa Verde, there is also Aztec Ruins, Chaco Canyon, Chimney Rock and more. – Ruby

Another reason that makes Durango an awesome place to be is the Narrow Gauge Railroad that goes from Durango to Silverton. It’s an amazing experience. There’s nothing like sitting in a train cart and watching the miles go past and how beautiful it is on the train. There is nothing like the views that you see while you are in a train car. – Mikael 

The reason I like living in Durango is because it gets lots of snow which includes lots of activities like skiing and fun games in the snow. My favorite activity is skiing because it’s soft snow. Additionally it is so pretty when you are having fun skiing. We have a really fun ski resort. Purgatory is a fabulous ski resort because it is a great place for everyone. They have runs for skiers of every level. – Wynn 

Durango has some extraordinary views. In the fall almost all the leaves turn red, orange and yellow. In the winter when it does snow it looks really nice when you wake up and everything is dusted in snow. In the summer it looks nice when you drive around town and all the trees are green and the sun is out. Then there’s spring and the flowers are blooming and there can be crabapples growing on trees and the weather is usually pretty nice. – Dylan 

Purgatory is a ski resort near Durango. You can stay overnight at Purgatory and ski the next day. Also, Purgatory has a wide variety of ski trails. Whether you’ve skied all your life or it’s your first time, Purgatory is the place for you. In addition, Durango has other areas to ski nearby. They are called Hesperus Ski Area and Chapman Hill. Hesperus has a special feature – night skiing. Chapman Hill is at a very convenient location, inside the town. Chapman Hill has a beginner course. In Durango we also have very good cross-country skiing courses. For instance, on top of Chapman Hill by the college, people will groom the golf course so you can cross-country ski on it.  Did you know that you can cross-country ski around a small pond? Another place to cross-country ski is the Nordic Center, where you can rent cross-country ski equipment and then go try the equipment out on their awesome skate-skiing trails. There is also Vallecito Lake, where you cross-country ski near the lake. In conclusion, you should come to Durango for our skiing. – Tilia 

People like Durango because there are many great places for hunting and fishing. Many people come from all over the Four Corners just to hunt and fish Durango’s awesome forests, lakes and rivers. Durango’s forests have some of Colorado’s biggest bull elk, and really big deer. Durango has many lakes and rivers that have huge fish. Also Durango has a wide variety of fish such as Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Cutthroat trout, Brook trout and Kokanee salmon. Durango also has many awesome hikes. You can go on some short hikes or on a long hike. Durango has a sweet setup of places to go on a hike. There are desert hikes such as Raider Ridge Overlook and there are high mountain hikes such as Engineer Mountain. – Brady

Mountain biking trails are a huge thing to have in a small mountain town because there are so many of them. You get to ride all over different mountains and there are a variety of shops where you can either buy or fix up your bike. For instance, if you were riding on a trail and needed to fix up your mountain bike very quickly you could just stop into a nearby bike shop. – Garrett 

Durango has good lakes, a fun train and coffee shops. For instance, Durango has Lemon Lake, Lake Nighthorse and Vallecito Lake. Lake Nighthorse has good boating because near the dock is deep so you wouldn’t scrape the bottom of your boat on the rocks. Secondly, you should come on the train at Christmas for the Polar Express. They have hot chocolate and cookies. The train goes all the way to Silverton and back to Durango and you go through the San Juan National Forest. – Kevyn 

Durango is very historic. We have a Durango History Museum, train, Strater Hotel, and on our river trail there are signs that tell about the history of the specific area. All in all, Durango is my favorite place in the Rocky Mountains. – Adria