Purgatory to Durango (The Easy Part)

TravelerThe trip from Durango to Purgatory Resort is just a 30 minute drive north up US 550 North. Getting behind the wheel and making the drive from Durango to Purgatory is a great way to take in some scenic views of the San Juan Mountains. Just hop on Main Ave. and continue north up US 550 for approximately 30 miles. US 550 feels like a backroads adventure and features some of the most beautiful scenery you’ll find along a highway anywhere in the country. The highway spans from Bernalillo, New Mexico to Montrose, Colorado, and is part of the San Juan Scenic and Historic Byway. You’ll see scenic mountain vistas, travel through tunnels, and even ride alongside rocky cliffs as you make the drive. If you take US 550 even further north, past Purgatory Resort, you’ll find a stretch of road known as The Million Dollar Highway. No one’s quite sure how this 12-mile section between Silverton and Ouray got the moniker. (maybe the breathtaking San Juan scenery, the amount it cost to build the highway or the gold ore found during construction) A front-wheel drive vehicle should handle the drive up 550 N. from Durango to Purgatory during mild weather. But if the weather is snowy or inclement you might want an all-wheel drive vehicle equipped with snow tires or chains. The trip from Durango to Purgatory takes you right through Trimble, a small community dating all the way back to 1893 and named after Frank Trimble, a local cattleman who put this area on the map more than a century ago. Today Trimble is home to a golf course and a few small businesses. The area’s hot springs are what make it truly special.

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