The first train to Silverton occurred on the same day that we decided to drive there. We saw the train go by on our way. The road to Silverton is called the Million Dollar Highway and the views are certainly worth more than that. There was still snow on a lot of the mountain peaks on our drive. The above picture is the view of Silverton from the overlook. The photos below are the views from the Million Dollar Highway.

This is the Pinkerton Hot Springs. It is right next to the highway and easily viewed as you drive by it. We stopped and walked around to see the cool colors in the back of the spring. I didn’t take a picture, but there is a giant sign that says, “ Do not climb the hot spring”. It amazes me that people will do it whether there is a sign or not.

We arrived in Silverton after about an hour. The train was scheduled to arrive less than an hour after us (we stopped to take pictures on the way). It reminded me of Sitka, Alaska at the end of the season. There is a big wide street with stores and places to eat on either side. There are mountain views no matter where you look. There were few stores open on the main street and there were quite a few empty storefronts. We were craving some breakfast or, at the very least, a hot chocolate. The breakfast cafe we wanted to try was not open, even though Google assured us it would be. Instead we stopped at a coffee shop and had some delicious hot chocolate and homemade blueberry muffin. The view from the shop was incredible.

We wandered in the shops that were open. I was able to find cheap postcards (a new request from friends) and a sweatshirt that cost half of those in Durango. We rode over to see the museum and then check out the jail. The train arrived to a lot of pomp and circumstance. There were quite a few people dressed up as they would have in the Old West and they had a live marching type band playing.

We headed out toward Ouray. These roads were crazier than the one from Durango. There were no guardrails, if there was an issue, you went down a cliff. We saw several areas that had sustained avalanches and couldn’t imagine how long it took to clear the snow from the road. The piles of snow on each side of the road were 10-12 feet high. The views were unbelievable.

You can see the town of Ouray from the overlook. Ouray has the same set up as Silverton with the wide street with shops on either side. However, Ouray is known for its hot springs. They have lap pools and regular pools of various temperatures (from 78-106 degrees Fahrenheit). It was a pretty cold day with the wind and we did not feel inclined to suffer the cold after exiting a lovely soak. Instead, we drove over to Cascade Falls to take a picture and then strolled on the Main Street. We bought some goodies at a chocolate shop and their toffee is out of this world!

We loved the views from the Million Dollar Highway, even if the roads felt a bit treacherous. The two towns felt sleepy after a long winter. We were happy we did not take the train to Silverton because we didn’t know what we would do for two hours in town. The other perk was that we could drive to Ouray and not have it be an extra trip. I would definitely recommend checking out these two towns. The highway alone is worth the trip.