Hiking Trails of Southwestern Colorado, Fifth Edition. John Peel

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      A panorama taken from the Rim Trail shows, from left to right, the Hogsback, Perins Peak, the La Plata Mountains, and Animas City Mountain.

HIKES IN & NEAR DURANGO

      Its obvious Durango is enthusiastic about trails. That enthusiasm started long ago, but the formation back in 1990 of Durango Trails 2000, the local trails advocacy group, really got things cooking. The nonprofit plans routes, energizes the community, and, with mostly volunteer labor, has built or maintains more than 300 miles of trails.

      Thanks to the foresight of Durango Trails 2000, the Durango Parks and Recreation Department, La Plata County, the San Juan Mountains Association, and the San Juan National Forest and Bureau of Land Management (and perhaps others I’ve missed), Durango-area residents can hike—sometimes right out your back door—into the nearby hills and beyond into the high country on your way to explore a diversity of ecosystems. Durango Trails 2000 continues to be at the forefront of trail development, and serves as a model for similar organizations around the region.

      If you are wondering why Durango is such a well loved and popular place, trails are a huge reason.

CITY TRAILS

      The Telegraph Trail System is one popular option. It’s covered later in this chapter in the Raider Ridge hike (page 53) and the Meadow Loop/Telegraph Trail hike (page 56). Plenty of other trails exist, and the maps that accompany those hikes show many of the various trails.

      There is a mile-long trail up Smelter Mountain, accessed near the start of CR 210. To get there: As you’re leaving downtown heading south on US 550/160, after crossing the Animas River take a right at the next light. Then quickly take a right onto CR 210, then another right onto a paved access road that leads to the Animas-La Plata intake facility. Go 100 yards and park in the dirt lot on the left (N 37 15.200, W 107 52.726, 6,520 feet). Start hiking downhill briefly to cross a ravine, then steeply uphill to the northwest. Go 1 mile to reach a nice viewpoint just before the mass of communication towers and just as you hit the access road coming from that direction (N 37 15.763, W 107 53.354, 7,560 feet).

      A couple of notes on Smelter: Between December 1 and April 15 it’s only open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and dogs are not allowed; this is to protect deer and elk. At all times, dogs must be on a leash to keep them from harassing wildlife. Parks and Wildlife asks humans and dogs to both respect wildlife from a distance.

      Just north of the Smelter trailhead, the approximately 10-acre Durango Dog Park lies under the north shadow of Smelter Mountain, just west of the Animas River where US 550/160 crosses it. There is room for a few cars in a dirt lot near the park entrance (N 37 16.086, W 107 53.210), which is south of US 160 and just west of Roosa Avenue. It’s also possible to access the dog park from the Smelter trailhead; follow an old road north about a half-mile to the park.

      Several trails, or trail systems, appear on the map on the facing page. Here is a description of most of them:

      Centennial Nature Trail is used by many Fort Lewis College students because it connects the lower town areas with the college campus and the Rim Trail. The Nature Trail can be found near the junction of East Sixth Avenue and Tenth Street. Through a series of switchbacks, the trail moves up some 250 feet to the campus mesa, coming out on the west side of the campus just south of the little chapel on the rim. At this same junction at Sixth and Tenth you’ll find the “Sky Steps,” 530 steps that go straight up the mountainside and are a favorite for athletes in training. At the top, you can catch the Rim Trail.

      The Rim Trail takes a little sleuthing to follow, particularly on the southern end, but you can make a complete 2.7-mile loop around campus. If you go counterclockwise from where the Centennial Nature Trail meets it, you’ll cross Eighth Avenue (N 37 16.385, W 107 52.181), go south and then northeast, paralleling Goeglein Gulch Road for a while. You’ll pass by the eleventh hole at Hillcrest Golf Club, cross Rim Drive near a three-way intersection (N 37 16.877, W 107 51.943), take a left, and then walk by the top of the city’s Chapman Hill Ski Area. (Another good way to access the Rim Trail is to come up the Lions Den Trail from Chapman Hill.)