Things to Do in Silverton, Colorado

The train runs 45 miles between Durango and Silverton on track first laid in 1882, following the Animas River through country with no roads. The trip takes about 3.5 hours each way. Riders coming from Durango get about two hours in Silverton before heading back.

★ Good to know Trains to Silverton run daily from May through October. If you’re staying in Silverton, Ouray or Telluride, you can board in Silverton instead of driving to Durango.

Built in 1929, this mill two miles northeast of town processed ore until 1991 and produced about 1.9 million ounces of gold. Its equipment is still intact, and the San Juan County Historical Society calls it the only functional mill of its kind in Colorado. It became a National Historic Landmark in 2000.

★ Good to know Self-guided tours run daily from May to mid-October. Don’t miss the aerial tram house, where the ore buckets still hang.

Next to the county courthouse on Greene Street, the historical society’s three-story, 14,000-square-foot complex includes a restored 1902 county jail. The museum fills the reconstructed Caledonian Boarding House, with exhibits built to look like underground tunnels and real mining machinery.

★ Good to know It’s open daily from Memorial Day weekend through September, with shorter hours into mid-October. Ask about the Heritage Pass if you’ll see the mill too.

A vintage electric mine train carries you a third of a mile into 13,000-foot Galena Mountain. Guides run air-powered drills and mucking machines dating back to the 1930s. The 1904 Old Hundred Boarding House hangs on a cliff 2,000 feet above the mine.

★ Good to know No reservations are needed, and gold and silver panning is included with your tour.

San Juan National Forest trail #505 climbs almost 3,000 feet in about 3.75 miles to a lake basin under Grant, Fuller and Beatie peaks. Wildflowers usually cover the basin in late July and August. It’s one of the area’s most popular hikes, so don’t expect solitude.

★ Good to know The trailhead is off South Mineral Road across from South Mineral Campground, and parking is tight from July 4th through Labor Day. The 2020 Ice Fire left snags along the trail, so watch the weather.

The whole town was named a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and added to the National Register in 1966. Greene Street holds the county courthouse, the museum complex and the old storefronts. Golden Block Brewery at 1227 Greene Street pours its own beer and cooks everything in a wood-fired brick oven.

★ Good to know Golden Block is open seven days a week, which makes it an easy stop between the museum and the train.

This expert-only ski area opened in 2002 and started Silverton’s winter tourism. It averages more than 400 inches of snow a year, with no groomed runs and guided skiing all season. Heli-ski runs are offered too.

★ Good to know Unguided skiing is offered only in spring; the rest of the season you ski with a guide.

Silverton’s small, town-operated ski hill sits right next to town, with one chairlift and 16 skiable acres. Half the terrain is rated beginner. It’s the easy, low-key counterpart to Silverton Mountain.

★ Good to know Its base sits at 9,313 feet, about the same elevation as downtown.