Dolores

Dolores’ culture is as alive today as it was 1,400 years ago when the Ancestral Puebloans lived there. Be sure to visit the Anasazi Heritage Center, a 40,000-square-foot museum chronicling the life of the Ancestral Puebloan civilization with hands-on exhibits, a video, a nature hike to Escalante Pueblo and special traveling exhibits. The Heritage Center is also the Visitor Center for the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.

Dolores is a recreational draw, thanks in part to the nearby boating and fishing paradise of McPhee Lake, Colorado's second largest body of water. The San Juan National Forest also provides excellent opportunities for hiking, mountain biking and fly-fishing.

Dolores was a major railroad town along the Rio Grande Southern route between Durango and Ridgway. Today visitors can tour an exact replica of the original train depot on Railroad Avenue, now the Rio Grande Southern Railroad Museum. Visit the restored Galloping Goose narrow-gauge railcar, in operation until 1952. A sprinkling of bed and breakfasts, campgrounds and inns complete this Colorado destination.