For those of you who don't travel to southern CO often should check out Mesa Verde National Park…read more The location and methods of building by the Native Americans is incredible. This is a seasonal destination so try to come in the summer when the tours are running so you can walk and climb amongst some of the areas.

A wonderful and beautiful park!…read more Mesa Verde means 'green table'. This national park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan ancestral sites in the United States (nps) - it celebrates people. The snowy peaks in the background is San Juan Mountain. We visit multiple Mesa Top Sites, (900-1100, nps). MTS means top archeological sites within this park. We first stop at the Far View Terrace Cafe for bathroom break and also pick up our lady guide; then driving up north, stopping at the PitHouse, ending the tour at the information & research center in early afternoon about 2pm, that includes an hour lunch at Far View Terrace Cafe, with a wonderful view. Two other cafes are the Spruce Tree Terrace Cafe, and the Knife Edge Cafe. The Cliff Palace is impressive. But the tour didn't take us there - only viewed it from afar. I actually bought a mug that changes with heat and a pretty conch bangle from the gift shop. The information center is cool; the museum is ok.

Emelia is the best river guide ever!!! She took us down in the big 16' raft with 7 of us…read morepassengers and navigated the river like a pro. She's super funny (dry humor, great wit and some hilarious group shots!) and very river savvy. We were safe and it was so fun!! We rafted on a day later in the season with the Animas river running about 200cfs--perfect for a group of with children, novices adults and an active senior. We didn't get stuck once and made it through some tight fits without even touching the boulders. "All Net!" we told her :) The Mountain Waters Rafting crew were awesome. Loved the lead guide's safety presentation that was peppered with some great humour. Punctual; clean gear; loved all the writing in the bus. Great place. Can't wait to book more adventures with them!

Relaxing, Fun, and Perfect for the Whole Family!…read more Our family (kids ages 8 to 15) had an absolute blast rafting with Mountain Waters. It was the perfect mix of relaxing and fun--just enough adventure to keep everyone engaged without being intense. Sam, our guide, was fantastic. She made the whole trip a blast with her quick humor and steady stream of bad dad jokes (which I'll admit--I appreciated more than I should've). She kept the kids laughing and made the whole experience feel easy and memorable. The photos turned out amazing, and I'm just glad we all stayed safe during Beaver Shark season. Highly recommend for families looking for a fun, light adventure with a great guide.

Ahhh Durango Area Tourism office how I love you!…read more Let me keep it real for a second. Typically the only reason I come here is to use the bathroom! You don't have to buy anything or talk to anyone! And the bathroom is always clean and there for the times you need it hahaha BUT! They are also extremely helpful and knowledgeable about things to do in the area! They literally have pamphlets for days. Even the stalls in the bathrooms have info on what to do here! I once came with a friend and asked about what day hikes we could do that weren't too far from town and the woman printed me out a list of all of the hikes with descriptions, the distance from town, and how long it would take to complete. I still have that paper in my car and still reference it. So overall great job Durango Area Tourism office!

Love the array of brochures and recommendations and the comfy seating to make a plan. Conveniently…read morelocated on the Main St.

We booked the self guided tour of the Kokopelli trail with Hermosa Tours and had an excellent…read moreexperience. The booking process was easy and update emails were sent prior to the start informing us of who our guide would be and where to meet him. Your guide (sherpa extrodonair) Glen Shoemaker was phenomenal and made sure that we knew where we were going each morning by doing a route review for us. He selected prime camping locations and had all our gear out of the trailer and ready for us to set up when we arrived. The tour provided amenities were set up and waiting for use, including a cleaned and stocked fire pit. Trailer and tent placement were carefully selected to maximize protection from prevailing winds and the intense sun. Overall this was an excellent experience! Matt, Glen deserves a raise! ;-)

Rode the Arizona Trail-Flagstaff to Grand Canyon . The…read moretrail it self is excellent , the views are great and scenery is wonderful. Would I ride the trail again yes, Make sure you have a map and GPS . With Hermosa Tours NO! The campsites were fine no issues, and the waste management was no issue. Then why 2 stars ? Contacting Matt , has been less the desirable. I was leaving country for 2 weeks before the ride and returning with 5 days to prep. So I called a couple times before I received a return call with questions on the meeting ,location and parking - I was told don't worry about it -read your packet when you receive it. We ask Matt to cater , charge $280.00 per person -Not a great cook -And we still have a food bill to pay . I have done other self supported rides were the food was included in the price , some cook for you some you cook your own . Charges a lot and does not include food . But he takes part in eating food we paid for . We brought beer and offered it to the guides , But when I drank 1 of theirs I heard about for 2 days , My ice box , I paid the food bill , you ate the food -Get Over It ! Our mistake ! Matt would give a briefing about the ride every morning , not very accurate. I wounder if he really rode the trail. When we had some maintenance issues with the bikes , He did not step forward and offer any help . The other guide Roger jumped in - Great Job. Matt seem to be irritated when questions were ask in reference to the trail , his answers left us questioning his knowledge of the ride . What I have learn from this if the guide service seems flaky or they seem more interested in the greenback . Then in quality of the customer service and customer experience , Lesson learned .

We had a great rafting trip with our tour guide, Riley! We did the 1/4 day Lower Animas River. We…read moreshowed up at 10:30 and got done around 12:30. It was a very good experience! Only one short spot was class 3, so it was more on the mild side. Would definitely go rafting again when we come back through Durango!

We went on the 1/4 day rafting trip this week with mild to wild- we had captain Sam and he did an…read moreincredible job guiding us and paying special attention to our kids to ensure they had the best experience. The 1/4 day was the perfect amount of time for our 9 and 7 year old- we got wetsuits because even though it is June the water was 47 degrees. The water was super high which made for a fun and fast trip- we did pull over and have the kids walk around the most intense rapids for their safety which I appreciated. We also had two guides that were just finishing guide school, Mike and Bailey, they were extremely helpful as well and will be great guides for future trips.

What a great tour historical and has some great ghost tours! I'd go again. Thank you!read more

What an outstanding way to learn the history of a city. The Cortez Ghost tour was fun, informative…read moreand filled with history / spooky tales of the city. This walking tour can be found by searching for things to do in Cortez. Our guide Helen, did a wonderful job keeping us all entertained. If you are looking for a group activity or something fun to do in the evening, this is a group walking tour that starts at 8PM and runs for 1.5 hours of light city hiking through the town of Cortez, check this out.

Booked a one hour ride with four friends of varying experience levels and everyone had fun! The…read morefacility is very well maintained and clean- owners take obvious pride in their business, and the horses are well fed and groomed. Guides are friendly and professional. Scenery is amazing, and the trees provide plenty of shade. This ranch also offers longer rides, which I would like to come back and try sometime in the future... it definitely caters to every level of rider. Great place to experience the beauty of Colorado on horseback!

I'd give it 6 stars if I could. My first time riding a horse and it was surprisingly easy! Maggy…read morewas our guide and she was very nice. Very informative about the area and the horses/ranch. 2 hours was the perfect time. Highly recommend if you're in the Durango area.

I booked this tour online to find something fun to do with my boyfriend while visiting Durango. It…read morewas my bf first time riding a snowmobiling. The drive up during a storm was also an adventure we were nervous about not making our time slot with the roads being bad. We were able to make it during our slot time and luckily still had time to get ready. I will note to leave a lot earlier during a storm. Once we arrived our guide made sure to provide us instructions and made sure we all had proper gear for riding. They also offered us some hot drinks before, half time and after our ride back at the trail head base camp. During breaks my boyfriend and I were able to take turns driving and enjoy the views. The back seat was very comfortable. Our guide took us on some loops in the area and we came back to camp to warm up and use the restroom during breaks. My boyfriend did go off the track by accident and our guide with a few other men helped get it out easily. We had a lot of fun with our guide who was very friendly and knowledgeable about the area. We did run into a few other groups on the trails which caused some bottlenecking. Our guide was able to coordinate to go around or let the other groups pass by us. I highly recommend going with ice pirates and also wish they had more merchandise to buy to remember our trip.

Great operation! Did a backcountry day tour with friends…read more All brand new equipment ! Great lunch ! Awesome guides! Tyler is the man and Adam joined us too for a bit and he was great too. They had us all in deep fresh powder all day and it hadn't snowed in over a month! Definitely want to go back again!

I have mixed feelings about this company as a Shuttle/A1 Taxi service. While my drivers were…read morefriendly and efficient, the fare was VERY expensive for what it is. For myself and partner to get a pick up from DUR airport to Pagosa Springs, it was $135-one way. We booked it weeks in advance in anticipation of Ubers being scarce. I knew it would be pricey but this seemed like the reliable option. The unfortunate part was two days before our flight into CO, Wilderness Journeys called to let us know there would be a surprise added fee of $15+ (each way) to get to where we were staying. I'm not sure why because it was a Pagosa Springs address--about 5 miles (6min drive) from town center, so I'm guessing they prefer to only drop off at the main hotels, though that wasn't mentioned when I booked the service. This increased our fare to $150 each way. If Wilderness Journeys has other passengers potentially going to the airport at the same time and you're willing to be picked up "up to 45min later," they offer to give you 20% off your fare. I opted for that to save some dough. Unfortunately the day before our trip to the airport, they told us we would have to be picked up earlier (not later) because they were picking up 3 more people. This meant we got to the airport much, much earlier than requested/planned. Another upsetting part is they only gave the 20% discount for part of our trip, not our full fare. It offset part of the hidden fee, I guess--but I still ended up paying nearly $300 for the RT shuttle service for 2. :( * Tip: Ubers from Durango to Pagosa are less than half the price and readily available, per the locals. In hindsight, I recommend ubering from Durango to Pagosa. I'd use that money saved I saved to booked the shuttle due to availability on the way from Pagosa to Durango, as it appears to be harder to reliably get an uber from PS to DUR. I would also not opt to save the $20 to share the shuttle.

We used Wilderness Journeys Pagosa Springs for a shuttle from the Durango airport to Pagosa Springs…read moreand then a second leg to a retreat center outside of Pagosa Springs. We did a return trip back to Pagosa and the airport a week later. The booking process was pretty easy and the drivers were on time and got us to and from our destinations safely. Given the length of the drive and the fact that we were going on very rough Forest Service roads for a portion of the drive, the cost seemed reasonable (especially for 4 or more people) and I was thankful to have this option. Thanks Wilderness Journeys!

We rode the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to Cascade Canyon and chose the Alamosa…read moreParlor Car, the last car on the train with private service. It's definitely more expensive, but you're paying for a premium experience: the best unobstructed views, attentive service, and nice extras like a souvenir cup, a bag, and a muffin to start the trip. Our server, Liam, absolutely made the experience, funny, engaging, and on top of everything the entire ride. Drinks are about $10 each, which felt reasonable given the setting and service. That said, the experience wasn't perfect. Our train was scheduled to leave at 9:15 AM but didn't depart until 10:30 due to brake issues. As a result, our time at Cascade Canyon was cut significantly, We only had about 30 minutes instead of the full experience. We were given a $10 drink credit, which was appreciated, but it didn't quite make up for the lost time. Even with that hiccup, the scenery was breathtaking and the overall experience was still memorable. A tip: if you book the Alamosa car, go for the two-seater tables (we were at 19 & 20). The four-seaters feel cramped and take away from the experience. Silverton trips don't start until May 2, but I imagine that route would be incredible as well. Overall, despite the delay, we had a fantastic time and would still recommend it, just hoping your trip runs on schedule!

I'm not sure what the four stars are about for a lot of people. For me, it was one of the most EPIC…read moreexperiences of my life. The beauty is totally surreal. I felt like I was constantly looking at a painting. It was awe-inspiring. You can open up the window next to your seat and I really encourage you to do so to get the best views and video on your phone. If you go in winter, wear LAYERS, think big coat, sweater, beanie, gloves. You will spend an hour outside. The train is heated but not super warm because as I said, people open their windows. There is a train car that is open air so you can also go there during the ride to get even better views if you want though it does get crowded. We chose a COACH seat because it was half the price, but I do think in the future that I would like to try first class. The seats in coach are pretty small. It's like a bench seat so two people can fit in them, but you're going to need to sit next to someone that you wanna cozy up next to. In first class, you sit in a dining chair that is padded, but then has a wooden back and you're at a table. There is a concession car, but you can also BRING your own food, your own snacks, and your own drinks, which is great. When you arrive in Cascade, you get an hour to walk next to the river and view the mountains there. It's not a town so there's literally just picnic tables and the river and the views. But I found that spot to be really gorgeous. The river is like a blue green sort of turquoise color and it's so beautiful and peaceful to view. Right when everyone gets off the train, everybody will be taking videos and pictures. I encourage you to WAIT about 30 minutes after everyone else has gotten what they want to take pictures of. And then take your videos and pictures when no one else is doing it. THE TRIP: You go from seeing the town of Durango to a gorgeous lake on your right if you're on the right side of the train when it's facing forward to the mountains on either side of you to the river all along the train. I was sitting on the right side if the train is facing forward, and I found that to be the BEST SIDE because even though you get to do the other side on the way back, you get the best views of everything on the way up. There is this one place where the train has just a drop off and the river below it (the most iconic part of the ride) and you get the best views of that if you're on the right side going up.