Lake City
Lake City was one of the boomtowns from the gold and silver rush in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today’s it’s best-known for the accused cannibal Alferd Packer.
Southwest
San Juan County Historical Society Museum and Mining Heritage Center
A rare two-hole potty car used by miners underground is one of the exhibits at the San Juan County Historical Society Museum.
Silverton history
Silverton was a gold and silver mining boomtown that drew the likes of Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp in the 1800s. It also attracted entrepreneur Otto Mears, who built a toll road connecting Silverton with Ouray.
Mayflower Mill
The Mayflower Mill opened in 1929 with the latest technology to recover gold and silver from Silverton area mines. Today, it’s a national historic landmark with self-guided tours in the summer months.
Old Hundred Mine
The Old Hundred Mine offers one-hour tours that take visitors in train of mine cars on a trip one-third of a mile into Galena Mountain to see a gold vein and crystal formations.
Silverton
Visitors to Silverton, many of them arriving on the narrow gauge train from Durango, will see the remains of a mining town that boomed from silver and gold discoveries in the 1870s.
Uravan
Uravan is an atomic-era ghost town, named after the uranium and vanadium ores that were processed there for most of the 20th century.
Montrose Botanic Gardens
Staff writer In the spare high plains of southwestern Colorado, citizens of the city of Montrose have created and are expanding a botanical garden dedicated to educating visitors. The Montrose Botanical Society was formed in 1995, organized around the dream of a botanical garden. The group has signed a 50-year lease with the city for a 3.5-acre tract of land. Two gardens have been completed: • The Promenade welcomes visitors…
Ridgway State Park
Ridgway State Park features camping, accessible recreation areas and a blue reservoir five miles long.
Navajo State Park
Navajo State Park Archuleta County, southeast of Durango Navajo State Park in far southern Colorado centers on 15,000-acre Navajo Reservoir, which extends south of the Colorado border into New Mexico. The park is open to campers and boaters all year, including houseboats. The boat ramp is closed in the winter, but boaters can rent slips at the Two Rivers Marina. Campsites are open year round, and crappie, largemouth and smallmouth…