We are visiting Colorado in September for a couple of weeks. The first part of the holiday is fixed with three days in Colorado Springs, and the last part, four days in Estes park for the RMNP, what to do in the middle? We had thought of Durango but after reading comments on it and the railroad on this forum, we are not so sure.Any help or suggestions gratefully received, many thanks.

Mesa Verde--one of the nation's great sites--is located in southwest Colorado and should be at the top of your list for a two-day visit. On the way there from the eastern part of the state, you can stop at Aspen, which is a fun and scenic spot even in the non-skiing season.

I don't think anyone said anything bad about Durango. Mesa Verde is close and it is a special place for Anasazzi Ruins. The road between Durango and Ouray is special, too. And in Ouray, take a trip to Yankee Boy Basin. You may want to hire a jeep. In years past I drove up there because the mines wer still active and the road was in good enough shape that trucks could go over it.
In the middle? Swing by Grand Junction and Colorado National Monument, and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, then on to Ouray and Durango and Mesa Verde and then back to your point of origin, or home, or ...

Make sure you look into Crested Butte. It is one of the most beautiful spots in Colorado.

Myself and six year old went to
Durango and Mesa Verde in the fall.
My six year old loved Mesa Verde.
Stay at the far view lodge. Could also do loop from Durango to Mesa Verde to Telluride, Ouray and back to Durango.
very awesome.

I believe most complaints about Durango had to do with the relative cost of the train from Durango to Silverton, to to relative amount of time the trip takes, and boredom on the return route.
By all means visit Durango. Things may be a little slow if you are there late September. Mid to late September is the best time for aspen viewing along the "Million Dollar Highway" between Durango and Silverton. Of course, as others mentioned, you could visit Mesa Verde. If you wanted to see the whole park, it could take two days (because of distances between sites). One day is sufficient. You can visit Four Corners-a bit touristy, but if you have kids they seem to like it. Just south of Durango is Chaco Canyon, another great Indian ruin site. In Pagosa Springs,there is a wonderful hot springs to enjoy. You could visit Taos, New Mexico and the Taos Pueblo. Going north from Durango, you can visit Black Canyon National Park. The view on the northern side is especially good, but a long drive. Then, to the east is Curecanti National Rec Park. The Natioanl Park services runs a little know boat ride down one of the canyons. Check ahead to see if it is still running when you are there. Crested Butte has a nice fall festival-don't know the date. And as the other post mentioned, you can drive to Aspen. If you like gorgeous scenery, you can't beat the drive between Durango and Aspen. A little north of Aspen is Glenwood Hot SPrings. If you skipped Pagosa Springs, stop at Glenwood, probably one of the largest hot springs in the world. If you are looking for city life, and cultural activities the Rocky Mountains are not the place to look. But, if you enjoy scenery, hiking, biking, jeeping, and smelling the fresh mountain air, with a hint of snow, then, you will love Colorado.

Many thanks for all the helpful suggestions, I think we will be adding the Mesa Verde to our list of 'must see'sights. As it is obviously too far to drive from Colorado Springs to Durango/Mesa Verde in one go any suggestions for a nice overnight stop?

It's not to far to drive in one day. Maybe about 6 hours max to Durango. I haven't stayed in Pagosa Springs, but it might be a nice stop with HotSprings there.

Hi Jan. I agree on the driving. True Colorado is a big state, but the roads are not heavily travelled once you get away from Colorado Springs. Out there, going 600 miles in a day is not unusual. There are several routes.
If you wanted to make it in two days,
I think Gunnison, Co. would be a good place to stop overnight. You could go by way of Buena Vista and take a look at the Saguache Range,the highest peaks in the state, the drive over Monarch Pass to Gunnison. From there you could visit Crested Butte, retrace your steps, and go on to the Black Canyon and then on down to Durango via Ouray.
Or you could go all the way to Ouray.
There is a swimming pool in Ouray fed by hot springs. The scenery around there is gorgeous. The next day you could drive over the road to Durango via Silverton and take in the sights along that most spectacular road. If you have time, you could ask about the conditon of the road up to Yankee Boy basin. I have driven it in years past, but not recently. You might look into a jeep tour for half a day and then continue on to Durango. Mesa Verde is a treat.
Balcony House ruin is my favorite, but Spruce Tree House and Cliff Palace are also featured attractions. From Durango, you could swing down through Monument Valley, and then reverse directions and return to Denver or Colorado Springs by way of Arches National Park and Canyonlands NP.
All of this country is spectacular.
I have been out there on vacations many times, even done some climbing and backpacking in those hills when I was a younger man. There is a lot to see and you will not be bored.

There's a little known boat ride run by the National Park Service between Black Canyon and Curecanti Reservoir. It's canyon tour on water at the Pine Creek Entrance. You need to buy tickets before you hike to the trailhead (1 mile).Check at the Elk Creek Visitor Center. I don't know the current price, but it's reasonable.(PS, I wrote a book about hiking in the Gunnison River basin. If you want info, please email me. )

Thanks once again for the help,think we will settle on one night in Durango and two at Mesa Verde if possible. I might be back with more questions once that part of the holiday is sorted, Jan.

As a Coloradian, I recommend driving over Monarch Pass to Crested Butte for at least a night, then onto Durango/Mesa Verde for however long, then looping through Utah/Canyonlands for a spell, then out though Moab back onto I-70. Access RMNP at the south entrance and do the road through the park to Estes. I strongly recommend the Canyonlands if you have never been.

For timing, it is about 5 hours from Moab to RMNP south entrance via I-70, 4 hours from the Springs to Crested Butte, maybe 3 from Butte to Durango, about 2 from Durango to south Canyonlands.

If you like National Parks this loop will provide 4 (Mesa Verde, Canyonlands, Arches, RMNP), get an Eagle Pass ($50/year, good at all national parks) instead of buying individual park passes. A week is plenty to do this loop.

Divide-view day hike at RMNP = Flattop Mountain accessed at Bear Lake.

Enjoy.

I don't think there's any reason really to stay in Mesa Verde, I assumed you would stay in Durango the whole time and do a day trip to Mesa Verde, it's only about 25-30 miles away, I think. That's what I did. I suppose there are some motels or lodges around there and it might be okay to stay right there if it makes sense for your visit (I personally can't see spending two whole days at Mesa Verde, but I guess you could). I think Durango is probably one of the better small towns to stay in in Colorado; I commented on the rail, not having taken it but driven instead, and just said it didn't look worth the day's time, but just don't do that. If it were me, since you have a good amount of time with a week in the middle, I would go down into New Mexico for a few days and get something a little different, it's not that far from Durango. I did that on my trip (a few days in Santa Fe then on to Durango) and Santa Fe is only about 200 miles from Durango, as I recall, maybe a four hour drive. However, that is a beautiful four hour drive and the scenery in northern New Mexico is very different from Colorado. Given your circular route, if it were me (having spent time in both CO and NM) I'd go from Colo Sprgs down Hwy 25 to Santa Fe, spend a few days there, then drive up to Durango and spend a few days there (incl visiting Mesa Verde for one day) and then drive up to Estes Park. Aspen is nice, also.

While I don't totally agree with Christina (hey, that's what makes this forum so great), she raises a valid point about how many days to spend in Mesa Verde. We spent two days there and thought that was not too much to see just about all of it. For Christina, one day was sufficient. What I might suggest is that you take her advice and stay in Durango for the three nights and make day trips to Mesa Verde. This way, you have the option of one day (if you think that's sufficient) or two (if, like us, you want the second day there). Also, it saves some packing and unpacking!
As for taking a side trip to Santa Fe, I'd save that for another trip! New Mexico is easily worth a week! However, if you have an extra day or two, you might want to drive to Monument Valley or Canyon de Chelly, both of which are closer to Durango/Mesa Verde.