Planning Your Time

For the full southwestern Colorado experience, you'll need at least a week or 10 days. After all, there are no speedy interstates here—just winding two-lane highways over steep mountain passes.

If you're coming from Denver, start your visit with a couple of days in the mountain-biking, fishing, and skiing havens of Crested Butte and Gunnison. If time allows, take a day trip to the towns of Lake City and Creede for a taste of history and off-the-beaten-path beauty. Either way, for the next leg of your trip, travel west from Gunnison on U.S. 50 past the sprawling Curecanti National Recreation Area to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Be sure to carve out at least a few hours here (more if you love hiking) to take in the panoramic views.

From there, you'll head southwest to Telluride for a couple of relaxing days, enjoying the region's best cuisine, toniest hotels, and most rewarding scenery. Next, continue southwest (via Highways 145, 184, and 160) for a few days in Mesa Country. Plan to base yourself in Durango, with daytime excursions to Mesa Verde National Park (a must-see), Purgatory Resort, and the vast wilderness areas surrounding the town. Finally, head back north on U.S. 550, stopping for lunch in Silverton before the slow but ultrascenic trek over Red Mountain Pass, also known as the Million Dollar Highway (depending on whom you ask, the highway got its name from the views or from the precious metals under the mountain). Spend the night in Ouray—dubbed "The Switzerland of America" for its dramatic, jagged peaks—and take a soak in one of the town's hot springs before making your way back to Denver.

If you can't swing the full tour, consider basing yourself in either the Crested Butte/Gunnison area, Telluride, or Durango and taking day trips from there. Montrose is arguably the most central location, but accommodations and restaurants are more basic and limited than you'll find in resort towns.