Things to Do in Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Pagosa is a small town with an unreasonable amount to do around it, largely because it is surrounded on three sides by national forest and sits on top of a geothermal spring. Here is the honest list, season by season.
Soak in the Hot Springs
The obvious one, and it earns it. Three ways to do it — the big terraced resort on the river, a smaller downtown option, and a free rock pool in the river itself. Full detail on the springs.
Ski Wolf Creek
The most snow in Colorado, no base village, and lift lines that barely qualify as lines. About 25 miles east over the pass. More about Wolf Creek.
Fish the San Juan
Through town, in the canyons, up in the wilderness lakes, or on the famous tailwater below Navajo Dam. More about the fishing.
Walk to Treasure Falls
A 105-foot waterfall a short, steep walk from a pull-out on US-160 on the way up Wolf Creek Pass. The easiest big view in the county and a reliable first stop for visitors.
Chimney Rock National Monument
An ancestral Puebloan great house on a high mesa west of town, built and aligned to the 18.6-year lunar standstill. Guided tours run seasonally and the site closes in winter. It is a genuinely remarkable place and most people driving US-160 have no idea it is there.
Hike and Ride the San Juans
The Weminuche is the largest wilderness area in Colorado, and it starts near here. Continental Divide Trail access, alpine lakes, high basins and hundreds of miles of trail. If you keep horses, this is the reason to keep them here.
Boat and Fish Navajo Reservoir
A large reservoir straddling the Colorado–New Mexico line south-west of town, with a marina, warm-water fishing and enough surface area to disappear on.
Ride the Durango & Silverton
A coal-fired narrow-gauge steam train that has been running the Animas canyon to Silverton since 1882. About an hour west, and worth the day.
Autumn
Aspen colour through late September into October is the quiet best season here — the summer crowd is gone, the elk are moving, and the passes are still open. It is also when the property itself is at its best. More on the wildlife.
Distances from the Property
| Hidden Valley Lake | On the Property The ranch's own 55-acre lake, private to its 35 owners, stocked with trout and largemouth bass and managed as wildlife habitat. |
|---|---|
| The Great Pagosa Hot Spring | Approx. 20 Minutes The town is built on the deepest geothermal hot spring on record — divers have measured past 1,000 feet without reaching the bottom. Three commercial soaking complexes draw on it, and there is a free rock pool in the San Juan River itself. |
| San Juan River | Approx. 20 Minutes The San Juan runs straight through downtown Pagosa Springs, with an improved in-town fishing stretch, tubing all summer, and the Gold Medal tailwater below Navajo Dam within a comfortable drive. |
| Pagosa Springs Golf Club | Approx. 25 Minutes Twenty-seven holes on the west side of town, with the San Juans on every horizon. |
| San Juan National Forest | Approx. 15 Minutes Around 2.5 million acres wrapping Pagosa Springs on all sides: the Weminuche Wilderness, hundreds of miles of trail, alpine lakes and elk country in every direction. Continue north up Fourmile Road toward the Fourmile Falls trailhead. |
| Wolf Creek Ski Area | Approx. 50 Minutes Wolf Creek advertises the most snow in Colorado and usually backs it up, averaging well over 400 inches a season. No lift lines, no resort town, no real estate wrapped around the base. |
| Chimney Rock National Monument | Approx. 40 Minutes An ancestral Puebloan great house set on a high mesa, aligned to the 18.6-year lunar standstill. Guided tours run through the warm months. |
| Treasure Falls | Approx. 40 Minutes A 105-foot waterfall a short walk from US-160 on the way up Wolf Creek Pass — the easiest big view in the county. |
| Navajo State Park | Approx. 1 Hour Colorado's answer to Lake Powell: a 15,000-acre reservoir straddling the New Mexico line, with a marina, boating and warm-water fishing. |
| Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad | Approx. 1 Hr 25 Min A coal-fired steam train that has run the Animas River canyon to Silverton since 1882. |
Questions about this part of the property? Ask, and you will get a straight answer.