We are going to SW Colorado in August and need information about the Durango area. Is it a more central location for us to stay to see Mesa Verde or any of the small towns? Or should we stay in Ouray? We are not to familar with the area and need a little information. Thanks for any help given.

Durango is a better location. It is a great town and you should enjoy your stay there.

You could go up and stay one night in Ouray. It's very pretty up there!!

We were in Durango several years ago & stayed at the Strater, a very old, lovely hotel. We took a train from Durango to Silverton, an old mining town. Fun!

Hi Froggy,

Ouray is 125 miles of mostly SLOW driving over the Million Dollar Highway to Mesa Verde. ONE WAY! You wouldn't have much time in Mesa Verde and you won't want to make the trip to many times.

I'm with kkj and think Durango would be a better location it's only 55 miles and most of that is pretty easy driving.

I'm also with ChristinP and think you should at least make the drive to Ourary for the day.

If you don't mind changing lodgings I would suggest staying in Cortez to see Mesa Verde and then maybe move to Ourary.

Were you going to try and go to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park?

Utahtea

Hi Utahtea,

Thank you so much for the added information. Remember how we were going to rent An RV? I checked prices and for a week it was more than I expected. Then I thought maybe 3 days and found our it wouldn't be worth it. Maybe if we did a 3 trip in California, we would rent an RV then. Plus gas prices here are out of sight. I think we will drive, spend a night in Arizona and settle in at Durango. Again thanks to you and everyone for all the advice and help .

I think I asked this same question last year when I went to SW Colorado. What I did was stay in Ouray and then planned to stay one night in Mesa Verde park at the hotel they have there. I was glad I did, though Durango is a very pretty city, it is a city. I prefer the little town surrounded by hugh mountains with tons of scenic trails to explore and unique shops. We stayed in motel with natural hot springs and really enjoyed our stay. The drive there was just beautiful. Definately, stay in Ouray, it's beautiful and you can go over to Telluride,then plan a night in the Mesa Verde Park. I never got to go to Mesa Verde because it was on fire by the time we got there and they closed it. Skip Durango.

Hi Trisha,

Do you remember the name of the motel you stayed in Ouray? Did you stay in Mesa Verde park? I am doing some research on our travel plans for the summer. Your vacation sounds like ours. How long did you stay? Thanks

Hi Froggy,
We stayed at the Box Canyon Lodge and Hot Springs. Their rooms are pretty basic motel room , with cable tv and queen size beds but, they do have hot tubs(I think about three) with natural hot springs and their prices are under $100.00.We intended to stay two nights there and one night at the Far View Lodge in Mesa Verde. I just happened to flip on the tv(I rarely watch tv on vacation) and Mesa Verde was on the news that it was closed due to fire. I called and they canceled my reservation without penality. Box Canyon just happened to have a cancellation so , we stayed an extra night in Ouray. When we drove through Durango all we saw was a big city and we were thankful we cancelled our plans to stay there ,especially after staying in beautiful Ouray. You can go on some jeep tours there, visit Telluride and go to Gunnison National Park from there or visit Silverton. We also, toyed with deciding whether to stay in Telluride or Ouray too. We realized we made the right choice after visiting Telluride. Ouray is just too beautiful and had more to do I think. I still regret not being able to see Mesa Verde though and will need to go back someday.That drive, The Million dollar Hwy., is one of the most beautiful drives I have ever been on. Hope you have a great time!

Thanks a lot Trisha. Your advice has been very helpful. Looking forward to our vacation.

I need to correct the statement that Durango is a big city. It has a population of 15,000. The highway going through town is not attractive, but the downtown area is. Ouray is certainly lovely, and Far View Lodge would make a good base for exploring Mesa Verde, just because it would save about an hour of drive time each way.