Thinking about buying a property in the mountains. Would mainly spend time in the summer and fall for hiking and other outdoor activities. Not really ski people so that wouldn't be a big concern of being near great skiing. I have a friend with a home in Crested Butte and really enjoyed visiting there. I would like to be within a day's drive of home, near Ardmore, OK. It's about 12 hour drive to CB. I would consider putting it on VRBO or AirBNB but rental is not high on the priority list.

Give me your suggestions/recommendations.

Following. I think about this all the damn time. For some reason I always lust for somewhere extremely remote, like Ouray or Silverton.

Durango. Here's our math on why we like this town:

1) Drivability - It is a 12ish hour drive from our home in Texas. One day drive is key to us. Also, we get to stop in Santa Fe on the way, which is a big plus! This is why we ruled out Steamboat Springs. Also makes it easier to take the dog.

2) Affordability - It's not cheap, but it isn't INSANE like most of Summit and Eagle Counties.

3) Not a Ski-Town but you can Ski - Durango is NOT a ski town. It's a combination of a college town (Ft. Lewis), mining town and western town. It isn't really seasonal, has a large number of full-time residents (the vast majority), has "real town" stuff - a great downtown, hospital, libraries, businesses, neighborhood restaurants and normal humans. If you want to ski, Purgatory is a solid if not world-class ski resort. It has expanded a lot in the last 8 years, and many folks don't know that. You can also drive to Wolf Creek, or Telluride (for a bit further of a drive).

4) Summer is its Stong Point - There is just so much to do here. The fishing is world-class. The hiking is incredible. The jeep trails are also world class. I love to ride the narrow-gauge railroad (and so do the kids). Restaurants are great. You're within a 3-4 hour drive of many of the big National Parks (Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Rocky Mountain National Park, Mesa Verde). An amazing offering, really. Santa Fe is also an easy drive.

Durango certainly fits the bill. You have really laid out a solid argument. Will have to consider it. Right at 12 hours drive time from home according to google maps.

The route didn't take me through Santa Fe but I would love to visit there more often. A friend is trying to buy a second home there right now. Great timing, huh?

Iron Claw said:

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Durango certainly fits the bill. You have really laid out a solid argument. Will have to consider it. Right at 12 hours drive time from home according to google maps.

The route didn't take me through Santa Fe but I would love to visit there more often. A friend is trying to buy a second home there right now. Great timing, huh?

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Go do a rental in the early summer (the VRBO's at Glacier Club or Tamaron are nice and reasonable), book fishing with Duranglers (downtown on Main). We hit the Florida, the Animas and some "off trail" stuff between Purg and Silverton. I couldn't believe how good the fishing is. Just incredible and SO many options. I was not a fly fishing guy, but went on an "instructional" outing with the Duranlger guys to get started. It was just amazing. I was so dazzled by the scenery that I often forgot I was fishing.

If you've got kids, go to the Bar-D-Chuckwagon for dinner under the stars one night to listen to the Bar-D-Wranglers. It's 1950 all over again. Ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Guage Railroad to Silverton for a day trip. Bring the camera. Go have drinks in the Statler Hotel - make sure to get there when the piano player is doing his thing. Lunch at Carvers. Dinner at either Primus (a "what's this doing in Durango?" kind of experience) or the Ore House. Tip back a delicious amber ale at Steamworks. Make the drive up 550 for Schoolhouse Pizza. Spend a day just driving I the San Juan Skyway. A day trip to Pagosa Springs to soak in the hot springs is worth it too.

I have a home in Pagosa Springs and really, really like it. I spend most of the summer there. It's relatively affordable and the climate is wonderful. Some of the best hiking and fly fishing in Colorado. 50min drive if you fly into Durango or 3 hours from Albaq.

My mom was a Colorado native (1903) so as young kids we would go back to Colorado for a month in August for years. Manitu Springs was our anchor. I never got to the southwestern part of Colorado as my parents by then discovered but I had already left home so didn't make those trips.

Everywhere in that state is really nice but it's been maybe 20 years since I've been and these days my wife I can't driver over 100 miles without "stops" so it would take forever.

From what our grandkids have told us Durango is the spot now.

Another plus for me about Durango is the altitude is only 6500'. I stayed above Breck once and was around 10.5k'. Hated it..born and raised on coast and couldn't get use to it.

I'm a bug fan of Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte area. It's a great small town with tons of outdoors activity in the summer. Public buses (painted like something from Austin) run back and forth from Mt. CB to CB all day.

It has great local restaurants with fun boutiques shops for the women. They have a country-music festival every summer.

It's only 30 minutes to get back to Gunnison for groceries and other items.

Drawbacks - not as easy to get to as other Colorado town and the elevation at CB is 8900 ft and MtCB is 9800 ft.

Montana for me. Much better than Colorado if you ask me.

OsoCoreyell said:

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Durango. Here's our math on why we like this town:

1) Drivability - It is a 12ish hour drive from our home in Texas. One day drive is key to us. Also, we get to stop in Santa Fe on the way, which is a big plus! This is why we ruled out Steamboat Springs. Also makes it easier to take the dog.

2) Affordability - It's not cheap, but it isn't INSANE like most of Summit and Eagle Counties.

3) Not a Ski-Town but you can Ski - Durango is NOT a ski town. It's a combination of a college town (Ft. Lewis), mining town and western town. It isn't really seasonal, has a large number of full-time residents (the vast majority), has "real town" stuff - a great downtown, hospital, libraries, businesses, neighborhood restaurants and normal humans. If you want to ski, Purgatory is a solid if not world-class ski resort. It has expanded a lot in the last 8 years, and many folks don't know that. You can also drive to Wolf Creek, or Telluride (for a bit further of a drive).

4) Summer is its Stong Point - There is just so much to do here. The fishing is world-class. The hiking is incredible. The jeep trails are also world class. I love to ride the narrow-gauge railroad (and so do the kids). Restaurants are great. You're within a 3-4 hour drive of many of the big National Parks (Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Rocky Mountain National Park, Mesa Verde). An amazing offering, really. Santa Fe is also an easy drive.

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+1

notbubbleboy said:

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Following. I think about this all the damn time. For some reason I always lust for somewhere extremely remote, like Ouray or Silverton.

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That's remote?

I was thinking Kananaskis or north of Calgary.

bremond?