SW Colorado/San Juan Skyway ideas?
 

I am in the beginning stages of planning a SW Colorado trip for me and my husband for end of September/early October 2017. I know this is far in advance, but that's how I roll :)
Quick overview...he's 30, I'm 34, from Northern West Virginia, no kids, we enjoy good food and great beer, beautiful scenery, and road trips. We are not into hiking at all, so we don't want to plan a trip around climbing a mountain on foot to see beautiful scenery. We prefer to drive to it. We don't mind a little walking, we just want to be taking all day hikes. My husband is pretty easy to please, and I like cute shops, art, and local finds that we wouldn't be able to find elsewhere. I plan on us having 7 full days to travel, this does not include the flying days.
I have contemplated flying into Denver, but also Albuquerque, as I have a cousin in Santa Fe that we could visit while there.
I want to concentrate mainly on the San Juan Skyway/Million Dollar Highway routes. I absolutely want to hit MVNP, but other than that, I just want to hit all the towns along the way that are worth seeing. I really would like some advice on where and how long to stay at each place. What towns are good for a few hours of sightseeing and a bite to eat and what towns would be best for an overnight or two? Also, definitely want to know recommendations on where to stay and what restaurants to not miss out on. I would rather stay in local places than a holiday Inn or chain hotel. Hubby is a huge BBQ fan and it would make his whole vacation to have a good pulled pork sandwich.
So basically that's it in a nutshell. Thank you!

You are far better off flying into ABQ; southwest CO is much closer than DEN. It is about 4 hours from the airport to Durango.

Durango and Telluride are the 2 top towns along the Million Dollar Highway. I would stay in both places but be forewarned - that is prime tourist season so it won't be cheap and some places may have 2 night minimums, especially weekends.

2 events to check out - Telluride Blues and Brews [usually 1st or 2nd weekend in Sept] and ABQ International Balloon Fiesta; usually first 2 weekends of October.

Fly into ABQ and head up to Santa Fe and Taos. From there head over Tiera Amarilla, Chama, Pagosa Springs into Durango. Then onto the Million Dollar Highway.

While BBQ isn't our thing here in the Southwest --New Mexican is -- not Mexican nor TexMex, Serious Texas BBQ in Durango would work. There's also T's, but I haven't eaten there so no first hand info.

sorry for the bits and pieces, I couldn't post the whole thing at once, Fodor's foibles

Thank you! Do you have any recommendations of hotels, or where would be best to spend more than 1 night? I think I'm too far out still to price check for next year, but I suppose I could price check for around the same time frame this year and get an idea of how much we'll be spending.

And also, what would be the best route so we're not traveling the same exact route to get back to ABQ?

The route back to ABQ would be to take CO SR 550 from Durango all the way to I 25. It isn't the most pretty route, but it is the most direct. You could stop at Chaco Canyon; another great site. Very different that MVNP but the history is amazing.

I would do 2 nights in Santa Fe. Leave early and stop in Taos for a few hours and then on to Durango. I'd do 2 nights in Durango which is a quaint little town. I'd then do 2 nights in Telluride and then head back to ABQ for a night.

IF you wanted to do the Balloon Fiesta, you need to plan at least 2 days in ABQ because the balloon only go up if the weather conditions are perfect. The weekends events are better than weekdays but weekdays are better than not going. The balloons go up as the rises, so it's an early start but then you have the rest of the day.

A night in Durango and one at MVNP at Far View Lodge is nice but hard to get the Far View Lodge; start early and call daily. For Durango - General Palmer or Strater for old world charm; Rochester for quirky and there are lots of chains. B&B - Apple Orchard Inn, Leland,Blue Lake Ranch.
Restaurants - Gazpacho New Mexican, Guido's if it is open, and on the road between Durango and MVNP, Kennebec Cafe.
Brewery - Steamworks

Telluride - lots of condos in Mountain Village that rent out. In Telluride proper, Victorian Inn is about the most reasonably priced. Hotel Telluride and the New Sheridan are nice but more $
Restaurants - Allreds on the Mountain, 221 South Oak, Cosmopolitan for fancy, lots of good casual.

B&B in ABQ = Los Pablanos is a nice B&B,
Hotels: Tamaya just outside ABQ, Sandia Casino hotel are both nice and out of the down town area.

Santa Fe Hotel, Inn of the Governors are 2 popular hotels. There are several high end hotels, all are nice.

I can do restaurants and others stuff as you get closer.

There is a *great* locally owned BBQ place in Albuquerque called The Cube. Their pulled pork is delicious! www.thecuberestaurant.com

Lee Ann

oooh, LeeAnn! Don't know that one! Will have to check it out.Thanks.

Great tips! thank you so much. I will post as I have more questions. Am going to tart researching these hotels and making a tentative itinerary.

Very sad...looks like the Balloon Fiesta in 2017 will be October 7-15, and we'll probably be gone by then. My husband has a landscaping company, so we have certain times during the year where he's slower, which is when we have to take vacation, but I also don't want to plan the trip too far into October that we miss the falls leaves.