There’s a particular point every September when Durango seems to exhale.
The mornings get colder. The light changes. The mountains begin trading summer green for gold, and suddenly I’m reaching for a sweater in the morning and taking it off by noon. Cottonwoods turn along the Animas, aspens light up the mountainsides, and the first dusting of snow sometimes appears on the high peaks while everything below is still very much autumn.
I’ve lived and photographed in Southwest Colorado long enough to know there are a thousand lists telling you what you’re supposed to do when you visit Durango.
This isn’t one of those.
These are simply some of my favorite places—the shops I wander into, the food I crave, the places I send friends, and the drive I still never get tired of making.
Start Downtown — and Don’t Rush It
Downtown Durango is especially good in fall. Park the car and wander. Main Avenue is compact enough that you can spend a few hours walking without actually having a plan—which, in my opinion, is one of the better ways to experience this town.
One of my first stops is almost always Dancing Willow Herbs.
It’s an independent herbal apothecary on Main Avenue, and much of what they sell is actually handmade in the laboratory at the back of the shop. Dancing Willow Herbs
But here’s what you really need to know:
Get the Bergamot Honey.
Their Essential Honey comes in several infusions, including bergamot, and I am not exaggerating when I say their Bergamot Honey is one of the most decadent things I’ve ever experienced. Dancing Willow Herbs
Put it in tea. Put it on toast. Eat a tiny spoonful standing in your kitchen while pretending you bought it for some sophisticated culinary purpose.
I’m not judging.
A few doors away is another place I love: Maria’s Bookshop.
Maria’s is what an independent bookstore should feel like—warm, interesting and wonderfully dangerous if you walked in telling yourself you were “just going to look.” Their booksellers’ recommendations are spot on, and their current displays include staff picks alongside new releases and regional books. Maria’s Bookshop | Durango, CO
I’ve discovered books there that I probably never would have picked up on my own.
Fall afternoon + new book + nowhere you absolutely have to be?
Pretty hard to improve on that.
Then There Are the Crepes
For lunch—or honestly, whenever you can justify a crepe—go to Michel’s Corner Crepes.
Sweet. Savory. Made right in front of you.
And while you can certainly make a responsible lunch decision here, I’m going to encourage you toward the Apricot Walnut Crepe.
Because sometimes we make good choices.
And sometimes we make excellent ones.
Michel’s is a tiny downtown crepe spot with outdoor seating and a long list of both sweet and savory combinations, so it’s particularly lovely on one of those crisp-but-sunny Durango fall days.
Dinner: I Already Know What I’m Ordering
For dinner, one of my favorites is Mamma Silvia’s Italian Kitchen.
They cook their Italian dishes from scratch and to order, and it’s the sort of small, cozy restaurant that feels right once the temperature drops outside. OpenTable
My order?
Chicken Piccata.
Every time.
Someone else at the table can branch out and be adventurous. I already know what makes me happy.
And Then… Find the Bookcase
After dinner, go looking for The Bookcase and Barber.
Part barbershop, part hidden speakeasy, it sits downtown on East Second Avenue. The building was once home to an independent bookstore called The Bookcase; today the cocktail bar is tucked behind a wall of vintage books inside the barbershop. Bookcase and Barber
Yes, there’s a password.
Yes, there’s a hidden entrance.
And yes, you should absolutely play along.
The cocktails are creative and beautifully crafted, the room is dark and intimate, and the whole experience feels just mischievous enough to be fun without turning into a theme-park version of a speakeasy. Their menu even carries the literary idea through, with drinks inspired by writers and stories. Bookcase and Barber
This is Durango, after all.
We can drink an excellent cocktail without taking ourselves too seriously.
Now Get Out of Town
As much as I love downtown, you cannot come to Durango in the fall and stay there.
Get in the car.
Head north on Highway 550 toward Silverton.
This is the drive.
Aspen groves climb the hillsides. Engineer Mountain appears in the distance. The road keeps gaining elevation, and every few miles the landscape seems to change again. Durango’s official fall guide specifically highlights the drive along the Million Dollar Highway for autumn color, and for good reason.
But don’t treat Silverton as the only destination.
Stop.
Pull over where it’s safe. Get out. Look around.
Fall here isn’t one grand viewpoint. It’s hundreds of little moments along the way—the yellow aspens against dark evergreens, a mountain disappearing into weather, a patch of brilliant orange tucked into an otherwise green hillside.
And if snow has already hit the high peaks?
Even better.
Pizza on the Way Back
On your way back toward Durango, stop near Purgatory.
For a wonderfully funky mountain stop, there’s The Nugget Mountain Bar, about half a mile south of Purgatory. It’s an old mountain bar with food, drinks, music and absolutely none of the polished resort-town preciousness that sometimes creeps into ski country. Nugget Mountain Bar
Or go just a little farther to the Olde Schoolhouse Café & Saloon.
The Olde Schoolhouse has been serving hand-tossed pizza north of Durango for more than 20 years, along with wings, calzones and beer. Durango
Neither place requires you to arrive looking fabulous.
You’ve been driving mountain roads and chasing leaves all afternoon.
This is pizza.
You’re fine.
Stay Somewhere With a Little Soul
If you’re making a weekend of it—and you should—you have two very different choices I love.
For something intimate and just outside the bustle of town, Antlers on the Creek Bed & Breakfast is the kind of place that will completely spoil you.
I know Antlers well, and there’s something about that property that slows people down. The creek, the grounds, the quiet—especially in fall—it feels removed from town without actually being far away.
Or stay right in the middle of Durango at The Strater Hotel.
The Strater opened in 1887, and it isn’t simply an old building with a historic plaque hanging outside. The hotel has preserved its Victorian character with elaborate woodwork, period wallpaper and a remarkable collection of Victorian walnut furniture. Strater Hotel
Walk through the lobby. Look around. Take your time.
Author Louis L’Amour famously stayed in Room 222, directly above the Diamond Belle Saloon, and said the music below helped put him in the mood to write his Western novels. Strater Hotel
That feels very Durango to me.
This Is Why I Love Fall Here
I photograph dramatic landscapes for a living, so you might expect me to tell you that fall in Durango is all about finding the biggest mountain view or the most spectacular stand of aspens.
It isn’t.
At least not to me.
It’s driving 550 when the mountains are glowing.
It’s coming back into town with cold hands and deciding pizza is clearly necessary.
It’s walking into Maria’s and leaving with another book.
It’s Bergamot Honey.
A perfect chicken piccata.
A ridiculous crepe.
A cocktail hidden behind a bookcase.
It’s the smell of fall in the mountains and that brief stretch of the year when the aspens turn gold, the peaks occasionally turn white, and Durango seems to be showing off just a little.
And after all these years, I still let it.
