Historic Silverton Mining Tour

Available May 16 – September 30, 2011

Check back soon for 2012 schedule and rates!

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast in Durango before you board the D&S motor coach at 9:45am bound for historic Silverton via the Million Dollar Highway. The views are worth a million bucks! Your journey back in time to catch a glimpse of Silverton’s mining history begins the moment you step off the motor coach and meet your tour guide from San Juan Backcountry. Your guide will acquaint you with many of the fascinating sights in town on the way to Cunningham Gulch and the Old Hundred Gold Mine. At the picnic area enjoy the views, the fresh air and a freshly made picnic lunch. Try your hand at panning for gold and silver. Shortly before noon you will “suit up” and board the electric mine train for the 1/3 mile ride 1,600 ft deep into the heart of

Galena Mountain. Here you will see the gold vein with tunnels and shafts built by the hard-rock miners between 1907 and 1972. After returning to the sunlight, the tour continues with views of the boarding house, which is stubbornly clinging to the steep mountainside. Don’t forget your camera and

binoculars. As you head back to town you will pass the Mayflower Mill as your guide describes the way ore was processed in the late 19^th century. Next stop is Silverton's state-of-the-art mining museum and its historical jail. Slip into the jail and feel what it was like to be "behind bars" in the old town of Silverton. San Juan Backcountry drops you at the train stop in time for the 3:30pm departure of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad’s steam train headed to Durango. You will ride on the same rails gold and silver ore took on its way to the smelter and see the same breathtaking views in the Animas River Canyon that ore train crews did back in the 1880s. 

SCHEDULE
9:45am - Motor Coach departs for Silverton.
11:15am - Arrive in Silverton & meet your guide.
11:15am - 3:15pm - Historic Silverton Mining Tour
3:30pm - Depart Silverton aboard the D&SNGR steam train headed for Durango.
7:00 pm - Arrive in Durango.


FARES
Adult (age 12 & over) - $185.80*
Child (age 4-11) - $120.44*
*Includes 4% Historic Preservation Fee on train ticket portion.

Note: If you would prefer to stay overnight in Silverton and return to Durango the next day, please ask your reservation agent for details.


Advance Reservations Required. Availability is limited. To book this tour package call our Reservation Office NOW at 1-888-872-4607 and ask for the Packages Desk.