Trip Report: Durango Family Weekend

The Doskicz family just had a fun long weekend in Durango. Only 5 ½ hours away, nestled at the southern end of the San Juan mountains at an elevation of 6500 ft, Durango offers all kinds of fun outdoor activities, things for the kids to enjoy and a fun downtown scene. Mountain biking, climbing, trail running, river running, BMX track and more. This was our third family trip to Durango and we always find new fun things to do. Here are some highlights to help you plan your trip.

The Camping:

We camp at Junction Creek Campground. This is a managed campground that charges a fee, has lots of sites, nice toilets (key for family), 6 miles from downtown and a walk out of camp onto great trails that go on forever! Climbing is close by too! Check out the B loop of the campground. This loop has many sites close enough to the creek to hear it running. You can also camp ‘at large’ 8 more miles up Junction Creek road.

The Trails:

The Colorado trail starts at the Junction creek trail head just below the campground. It is 2.5 miles up to Gudy’s Rest, a nice rocky vista, offering views back down the canyon towards town. A few more miles up the trail you’ll pass the first of two intersections that lead into the canyon to the west. You can make a 15 mile lollipop loop out of this section from camp. The Colorado trail just keeps going and going… 250 miles to Denver. I’ve always have had a great time running on the section of trails out of Junction Creek. The scenery in the upper reaches of Junction Creek as you work up towards Kennebec Pass is breath taking. The surrounding peaks almost reach 13,000ft, rocky spires jutting up from the canyon floor, and on my Father’s day 25 mile run the skies were mostly blue and 100% beautiful. One day I hope to get shuttled to Molas Pass, just south of Silverton, and run/walk/crawl the 70miles of Colorado Trail back to camp.

Pick up a trail map at one of the outdoor shops in town. There are networks of trails all around town. We spent several hours biking the Animas River trail through town. Very fun, family friendly ride. We parked at the city rec center and rode south from there. The trail runs next to the Animas, crosses a few times on bridges and tunnels to keep you out of traffic. South of town the trail passes a city BMX track. None of us have ever been on one before and we spent an hour cruising on the course. I’m not sure who had more fun, me or the kids?


The Climbing:

This was the first time I climbed in Durango. I had a couple of hours to myself on Saturday afternoon and drove the 3 miles from camp to the Turtle Lake boulders. Incredible sandstone boulders scattered throughout a hill side of scrub oak. The trails feel like corridors through the trees unveiling amazing rock at every turn. There are some big boulders here. I climbed a couple on the Big West boulder that offered hard moves in the first ten feet and then easy 5 class climbing for another 25! It felt great to run around for an hour, getting scared and down climbing and traversing the boulders too big for my comfort. To get there go west on 25th street towards Junction Creek. When the road splits, go right towards turtle lake. You will see a boulder on your left, just feet from the road and a long pull out on the right. Park in the pull out.

There are some boulders just pass the campground off of Junction Creek road with some chalk on them. Looks like an area that does not see much traffic but looks like good climbing. East Animas is the most popular local crag. And for a taste of home check out the Golf Wall, overhanging limestone sport climbing. In the late 80’s Vertical Relief Founder Tomas Robison was doing the dirt bag climber thing in Durango and was one of the route developers at the Golf Wall. Plus, all the alpine climbing in the San Juan Mts. is a short drive north.