Guided Tours

Tours are educational activities that can help you learn more about the region and feel more connected to the community. Guided off-road excursions across the rugged terrain in the San Juan Mountains are one of the most popular tours for people of all ages. However, there are plenty of other types of guided tours guaranteed to please.

UP IN THE AIR

For a truly special experience and a bird’s eye view, schedule a tour of Colorado in a helicopter or hot air balloon. The mountain landscape features beautiful fields of flowers and alpine lakes in the valleys between the towering peaks. From a helicopter or hot air balloon, tour guests can experience these views without boundaries.

Alpine Heli Tours by Colorado Highland Helicopters allow customers to choose from one of three tours, Mountain Peaks, Mountain Lakes and Animas City, while Telluride Helitrax offers passengers quick 15-minute trips over Telluride Ski Resort and Ophir Needles.

For a more peaceful experience in the sky, try a hot air balloon ride with Rocky Mountain Balloon Adventures in Pagosa Springs or San Juan Balloon Adventures in Ridgway. Though flight times are varied, both companies offer a special celebration meal after the tour.

HISTORY’S MYSTERIES

Guided history tours are also popular attractions in tourist towns. Though Durango has a number of self-guided walking tours of areas such as Animas City and Historic East Third Avenue, guided tours from Ghost Walk Durango and Horsefly History are fun experiences with knowledgeable guides.

Both of these tours will describe historic characters and events that shaped the growth and life in the Wild West. Step back in time with Ghost Walk Durango, a guided walking tour through 140 years of haunted history in downtown Durango. Each tour begins at 7 p.m. in front of the old Durango High School at 201 East 12th St. Horsefly History hosts three types of tours that take participants to different parts of town. Those tours include Underground: Durango Ghost Tour, Coal Dust & Oysters and Murder & Mayhem.

MINING ADVENTURES

Go underground and experience a day in the life of a miner. Southwest Colorado has a rich history of mining, and these tours take guests into the tunnels beneath 13,000-foot peaks.

The Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour is a one-hour guided mine tour in Silverton. Guests can see colorful minerals, ride a vintage electric powered mine train, see equipment in action and go panning for copper, gold and silver.

The Bachelor Syracuse Mine Tour on Gold Hill in Ouray, Colorado begins with a miner’s breakfast at an outdoor cafe, followed by panning for gold in the stream nearby. The tour then follows a gravel path to the Syracuse tunnel for an underground tour of the active mining operations.

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