Once a frontier mining town, established in 1881, Durango is set on the Animas River in the afternoon shadows of the San Juan Mountains.  Here, at the edge of a great desert mesa, warm breezes meet the cool lush forests of the mountains that frame
the community with spectacular scenery.  Classic 19th century hotels, Victorian architecture, saloons and hitching posts give downtown Main Avenue distinctive charm.  It’s the doorway to the Animas Valley, where ranches, rolling hills and a story-telling river take us back to the Old West and the romance of the American frontier.