Tally

Hi! We're planning to spend 4 nights in the area and originally I was thinking 2 nights in each town. Would it be better to stay in one and daytrip to the other, since they're only an hour apart? Is each interesting enough for 1-2 days on its own? We're going around Aug-Sep. We have a toddler so won't be hiking much or taking jeep trips. We like to wander around town, do short/easy hikes, shop, check out cool stuff nearby. Thanks!

DebitNM

Honestly, if you aren't doing outdoor activities, 1 day in each place is really enough. I would spend the other 2 days in Durango where there are lots more thing that you might enjoy with a toddler.

I live in the area and honestly feel that 2 days in each is too much. You can walk each town, stop in shops, eat and the like in a day each.

Not sure where you are from, but the driving here is misleading. Mileage doesn't indicate time to travel. The road between Ouray and Telluride isn't long, but it is slow going since it is single lane in each direction, has curves etc. If you aren't used to mountain driving, it isn't a fast drive. Also, there will be lots of others on the road and THEY may be going slowly.

Where are you coming from? Where are you starting your drive from?

You can also drive a loop that is really nice, starting and stopping in Durango.

If you haven't been here before, you really should go to Mesa Verde NP. That would take a day and still leave a day for Durango.

I can offer more specifics [hotels, restaurants etc] if you are interested. Feel free to email me direct.

Debi

Tally

Thanks! I'll send you an e-mail.

Tally

Which would be a better base for a few days to explore the area? We'd like to spend some time in Telluride, Ouray and drive the million $ highway. Stay in Ouray and make 2 daytrips, to Telluride and Silverton, or stay in Telluride and make one long daytrip to Ouray/Silverton?

DebitNM

Silverton can be seen and done in a couple of hours and that is if you go into every shop [which tend to look like most of the other shops in the area] and have lunch.

Ouray can also be done in a day; as can Telluride.

The drive from Durango to Telluride is about 2 hours.

The drive from Durango to Ouray is about 2 hours.

If you are trying to keep to one location and drive to and from places, I think Durango will work best for you. There are many places to stay and different price ranges. Greater selection of places to eat [at a reasonable price] in Durango too.

Debi

sharondi

Tally,
We spent 2 nights in Ouray at a really cool inn - the Wiesbaden Hot Springs Inn. They have an underground vapor cave and nice hot springs pool. You can walk to everything from the Inn - dining, shops, Box Canyon. Very scenic town. We loved it. You can see some pictures of the Inn & Ouray at this link:

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/co_and_nm_05&page=2

Tally

We ended up spending 4 nights in Telluride and 2 in Ouray. We loved both! In Telluride we stayed in a condo I booked on VRBO.com (Cimarron #34). That worked out really well. Telluride is a beautiful little town and 3 full days there wasn't too much for us. We poked around town, hiked up to Bear Creek Falls, walked along the river, etc. We have to allocate time for the little one to nap, so generally we don't get that much done in a day.

Ouray is wonderful, too! We had 1 1/2 days there and loved it. We poked around town and walked up to Box Canyon and Cascade Falls. It's a lot smaller than Telluride. We stayed at the Victorian Inn and were pleased with it as well.