Nestled in a mountain valley is the most populated town in San Juan County. In the 1860s, silver put Silverton on the map (hence the name). There is still gold and silver hidden in the nearby mountains, but the cost for the mineral acquisition exceeds the value of recoverable assets.

These days, the town’s biggest claim to fame is the historic Durango-Silverton Railroad. We visited Silverton twice, arriving on the train for a day trip once, and driving there to begin the journey on the Million Dollar Highway between Silverton and Ouray. This post features images captured on our day trip.

D & K Wagon Rides offers stagecoach and wagon rides through the town. Generally, positive reviews from TripAdvisor indicate that a stagecoach ride is a fun and interesting way to tour the town. We will have to save that opportunity for the next time through Silverton.

Picturesque buildings line the streets that were laid out in 1874. The town became the center of mining activity and numerous mining camps sprung up in the area. By July 1882, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad completed tracks connecting Silverton to Durango. By then, the town of about 2,000 people was exhibiting all of the trappings of an 1880s mining town. Saloons, banks, hotels, and, as might be expected, a red light district.

Every piece of property in the mountain valley town has a spectacular mountain view given the ring of the San Juan Mountains that surround the town. Don’t forget to take your camera or at least be sure that you still have enough memory in your cell phone to capture the spectacular views during your walks on the streets of Silverton. The large building on the right is the train depot. This image was captured after the train left for the day.

Constructed in 1908, the Silverton City Hall building houses all of the typical governmental offices for the town. Most online references refer to the building as the town hall, but the sign above the entrance columns clearly states the ambitions of the town to grow to become a city.

On the day of our visit, there were a few rain showers, and we didn’t bring umbrellas. Fortunately, the rain was light and we stayed relatively dry. We bypassed the restaurants near the train depot. The train arrived just before lunch and everyone who stepped off the train had the same idea, “Lunch!!”

We walked down the street and then over a block or two and found a small restaurant that was far enough from the crowd to provide us with a very short wait time and very good food. I can recommend the food at the Kendall Mountain Cafe located near the northern end of Greene Street.

The Old Arcade is a general store and gift shop located right across from the train depot. It was quite busy there just after we got off the train so we bypassed it. Later we walked by when it wasn’t crowded but didn’t think to stop in. I’m sorry we missed it… I later learned that they have a reputation for selling the best fudge in town. Oh, well… maybe next time.

That about does it for our visit to Silverton. Soon we will be on our way on the Million Dollar Highway to Ouray. Feel free to click on any of the images above to get a detailed view in 2K HD. Alternatively, click here to go to the album where you can scroll through all of the images of our journey on a summer day.

John Steiner