Leo's fav: Bread – bakery and cafe with yummy pastries, breads, sandwiches and coffee. There are two locations — one downtown and one on the north side of town.

Nitsa's fav: PRIMI Pasta & Wine Bar – delish homemade pasta and lots of wine :)

Orzo's fav: James Ranch (dog friendly!) – farm-to-table, casual restaurant, with great burgers, sandwiches, salads and local beers. Live music on Thursdays!

Leo's fav hike: Ice Lake Basin (Silverton area) – a super beautiful and popular trail in our area (get to the parking lot early if you want a spot).

Nitsa's fav hike: Highland Mary Lake (Silverton area) – fun hike that's a little less popular and leads to pretty alpine lakes. You can add a couple extra miles and make this into a loop hike.

Orzo's fav hike: Junction Creek Trail (Durango area) – this is the starting point of the Colorado Trail. The first few miles are flat, partially shaded and follow a creek. Orzo also loves Falls Creek Waterfall (Durango area) – this is a mellow meadow trail that leads to a small creek and waterfall.

Leo's fav spot: Crater Lake – or any other alpine lake that we can hike into :)

Nitsa's fav spot: Hermosa Creek – runs through a beautiful meadow on the backside of Purgatory Ski Resort. You can fish for native cutthroat trout here! There are also great hiking and biking trails in this area.

Orzo's fav spot: Los Pinos – located near Vallecito Reservoir. It's about a 3 mile walk into the river and has great spots to hang by the river and fish or read and relax.

Leo's fav trail: Mike's + Cuchillo – these trails are part of the Horse Gulch trail system in town (which has a bunch of other trails to explore). Swing by Anarchy Brewing (across the road) for a post-ride brewski!

Nitsa's fav trail: Hidden Valley + Star Wars – fun flowy trail, add on 8 Bells + Browns Ridge for some extra riding!

Orzo's fav trail: Animas River Trail – flat, paved path along Animas River (also good for walking + running)

Downtown Durango has some cute shops, museums and art galleries to explore. We recommend checking out the Farmer's Market (Saturday morning), the Smiley Building (coworking space with a cafe and local artists), and the Powerhouse (an old power plant that has been converted into a kids science center)!

We also recommend checking out the Animas River. It flows through town and has a scenic walking/biking path along it. There are a couple of swimming holes on the north end of the trail and a whitewater park on the south end where you can watch kayakers and rafters float through the rapids!

If you have some extra time or want to extend your trip, there are a few spots outside of town that are worth checking out:

Mesa Verde National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site with crazy cliff dwellings and mesa-top villages built by Ancestral Puebloan people. It’s mainly accessible by car with several spots where you can get out for short walks/hikes.

Silverton & Ouray – Silverton and Ouray are two historic mining towns in the San Juan Mountains. The drive has stunning views of the mountains and plenty of spots to stop for beautiful walks/hikes along the way.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad – you can also take the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad from downtown Durango all the way up to Silverton (note that this is much slower than driving and it's a full day commitment).

Telluride – about 2 hours away from Durango and has some more great hiking and biking options!

Check out this map for our favorite places to eat, drink, hike, bike and fish!