Getting here.

Planes.

The Durango-La Plata County Airport (DRO) is the primary regional airport for southwest Colorado, northwest New Mexico, and the entire Four Corners region. DRO welcomes more than 390,000 passengers annually. The Durango airport is served daily by three major carriers:

• American Airlines

• United Airlines

• Delta Airlines (beginning in May)

There are daily non-stop routes to and from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Denver (DEN), Phoenix (PHX). In May, a route to Salt Lake City (SLC) will begin. In June, seasonal flights to Los Angeles (LAX) start.

For more info, check out FlyDurango.com.

Trains.

The storied Denver & Rio Grande Railway established Durango in 1880, and a year later completed the tracks into town, bringing freight and passengers into this Southwest Colorado boomtown. The train is still here. But there’s a catch. It’s now an orphaned spur, with service between Durango and Silverton only.

So you can’t ride a train to Durango, but when you’re in Durango, you can ride the train.

The trip offers spectacular scenery deep in the heart of the San Juans Mountains’ Weminuche Wilderness Area. The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge reservation and information line is 1-877-872-4607. A local tip: the shorter (2-hour) Cascade Canyon option takes you on the famed Highline section (photo above), and tickets are easier to get, too. The “regular” Durango to Silverton and back will be an all-day trip.

Automobiles.

Durango is 336 miles from Denver (6 hours and 7 minutes driving). There are several routes from Denver where you can potentially cross four or more passes over 12,000’ one way, and almost as many different passes on your way back. It’s a stunning drive through the Rockies. Here’s downloadable Colorado map, and you can order a hard copy.

Durango is 212 miles from Albuquerque, N.M. (3 hours and 52 minutes). The low-fare Southwest Airlines is ABQ’s major carrier. The drive will be through the high-deserts of Northern New Mexico north on US Highway 550 or a 1-hour longer trip north to Santa Fe and Abiquiu, past the Georgia O’Keefe Ghost Ranch, to Pagosa Springs, then west on U.S. Highway 160 to Durango.

Salt Lake City is 391 miles from Durango (6 hours and 20 minutes). The drive goes over the Wasatch Mountains and into the heart of the Colorado Plateau’s high desert and red rock country of Moab and beyond.

** If flying into Denver, Albuquerque or Salt Lake City and then driving to Durango, we recommend arriving in your city and staying the night of Tuesday, Aug. 3. That way, you can get up early for the long drive to Durango that will be filled with heart-pounding scenery and floral riches on the way. You will want to make some stops and explore. The same will be true on your way home.**