Best Dog Friendly Towns In Colorado – Colorado is famous for its mountains and forests. Elevation reaches 14,000 feet and many small towns are 7,000 feet high. We are lucky to live near these towns, just across the state line in New Mexico. We took our “wine and dog stuff” to explore Ouray and Silverton and take in the beautiful nature and cool mountain air.
It was a good trip for us. Our home base is at 6,000 feet, so we’re no stranger to altitude, but we’re in a semi-arid climate, while the Colorado mountains get a lot of rain and snow – it’s often dry at home and we can see clouds. . and rain in northern Colorado.
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On this trip, we took a short afternoon ride from the high desert to a mountain pine forest.
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Our first stop was Silverton, a small town of less than 700 people at an elevation of 9,318 meters with many historic buildings that have survived from the mining era. There are many bars and restaurants for tourists, but not necessarily enough to keep tourists open all the time (especially during COVID), so pay attention to the opening hours if you plan to eat here.
Silverton’s main attraction is probably the Durango-Silverton Narrow Railroad. This historic steam train has been in service since 1881. For better or for worse, our family motto is “If I can’t take the dog, I don’t go” – so we can’t say we’ve experienced it. A train track, but we hear it’s good! Something to keep in mind if you don’t have a pet or want to take your dog to daycare.
Besides the train, local businesses are mostly hotels, motels, gift shops and gas stations. Be sure to check out Silverton City Park (aka Harmony Park) with the musical instruments in the middle of town (which we didn’t take enough photos of – I think we were too busy playing!).
After driving around town, we found a campsite along a creek a few miles from Silverton, a scattered campground.
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Outside of a few select areas, the mountain roads are not suitable for RVs; If you have a camper shell pickup or a short 4×4 van with good clearance, you can find a spot on a deep forest road, but many others are determined by the neighbors and this area is based on fire tire calculations. The season is incredibly busy. Even if you have a capable SUV, make sure you know where you’re going and preferably travel with two vehicles: some of these mountains are the biggest Jeep roads in the US, and maybe the longest is not a desirable term. The car can roll safely.
On this mountain, cell signal quality seems to depend mostly on luck, regardless of whether or not your campsite has a view of a cell tower. Obviously, you’re more likely to find a good signal a mile or two off the highway. On average, we were surprised at how well we managed to find a signal, managed to work outside of good campsites, and most of that was on a weeknight when the cell towers were full.
Driving north from Silverton to Ore., you are driving the Million Dollar Highway. Some of this section is carved right out of the mountain face and there are few guards due to the heavy snow. This means an almost vertical drop, thousands of feet down, sometimes beyond the white line of the road. In the spring, before you have time to repair the road, you can notice that pieces of the road have fallen due to water erosion. There is no room for error here.
Trucks use this route to service mountain communities, but I personally do not want to transport Class A or large trailers on this route. It works, but it’s not fun. Stick to the recommended 25mph on curbs and practice your engine braking skills elsewhere – you don’t want to be constantly using the brake pedal on long downhills.
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Also, be aware of unpredictable mountain weather and be prepared to postpone your ride if it rains. Even in moderate rain, water literally flows over the surface of the road, and sometimes the water carries stones. As for the van, stay below the recommended speed for the canyons in good weather, it’s a beautiful car and worth it for the scenery alone, just be careful and let the passengers do the sightseeing. And leave your trailer or large motorhome at the campsite.
North of the million dollar highway is the slightly larger town of Ouray, a mining town known as the “Switzerland of America.” Orai is a beautiful small town surrounded by hiking trails with easy access to waterfalls and beautiful mountain scenery. It’s very touristy but not “lots of gift shops” and has a good selection of restaurants (we like Thai Chili). Uri is located at an altitude of 7,792 meters – lower than its surroundings – and it is hotter than expected.
Because of the heat, we want to find cold water. Dogs enjoy a tour of the “baby spa” – a pool to cool off their wet feet.
We visited in June and the spas are still full – but this can vary depending on the season.
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After that we arrived at Cascade Falls which is located in the city. It’s a very short walk to the falls and the best part is that you can actually climb back a few back and stand behind the falls!
It’s so refreshing! But not for a smiling heart. The road is narrow, slippery because it is wet, and you have to crouch to walk underfoot.
One day we would like to return to the Silverton and Ouray area and pick up some more. On this visit, our dog Lily was about a month old recovering from a rattlesnake bite that sapped her energy, so we continued walking. If you and your dog like to hike, we hear the Ice Lake Basin Trail outside of Silverton is incredible—and definitely on our list for next time. Some other Orai attractions worth checking out if you’re not into pets are the hot springs and Buck Canyon Falls.
We didn’t have much luck finding the Boondocks near Ore, so after two days of descent we headed back south to camp near Silverton.
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The dogs spent the evening looking for “chips” – Moshi prefers to stay on the ground and Lily likes the high view from the bed of the van.
For us, driving 12,000 feet above the clouds is no big deal, even though we live at sea level. No one suffered from altitude sickness. We haven’t seen any sick dogs yet, but someone knows the warning signs! But make no mistake, this is serious mountain and even a “low” area at 6,000 feet. If you’re driving to this area of Colorado near the ocean, make sure you know the signs of altitude sickness and be prepared to return to a level you’re comfortable with. If you have time, you can camp halfway up the mountain for a week or two.
If you have more time, you can also head north around Mt Sneffels and explore the third mountain town, Telluride. It is the largest of the three and probably the most touristic because it has a popular ski resort. Next time we’re on this road, we’ll walk this way, ready for an adventure in the area. Until then, it’s time to sleep!
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Chaco Canyon Tour with Dogs What is Chaco Canyon? Chaco Canyon, northwestern New Mexico, was the center of Native American culture for about 800-1100 years. It is now protected as a World Heritage Site in the Chaco Culture National Historic Park. It has many canyons with very different architectural styles and the ability to serve everything from steep mountains to beautiful trails, providing dog-friendly hiking in Colorado Springs.
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