Historic Durango & Old West Heritage - JW Durango Riverside Resort

Durango Electric Light & Power Company: History That Still Glows

Close-up of glowing vintage Edison bulbs hanging inside an old brick power plant, with warm light reflecting off antique generators and copper pipes in the background.

Follow the Animas River Trail from Junction West to Durango’s 1893 Mission-style powerhouse for family-friendly history, science exhibits and epic smokestack selfies in one half-day adventure.

How D&SNG Safeguards Wooden Trestles: Tools, Timber, Tactics

Railroad worker inspects wooden trestle with handheld tool, surrounded by maintenance equipment on weathered tracks, with pine trees in the background under a clear sky.

Discover how the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad blends modern engineering, fire-hardening science, and river-smart foundations to keep its iconic wooden trestles—and your next trackside adventure—safe for another century.

Inside Mrs. Bliss: Architectural Layout of an 1888 One-Room Schoolhouse

Interior of an 1888 one-room schoolhouse with rows of antique wooden desks, a potbelly stove, tall windows letting in sunlight, and exposed timber rafters, evoking historic rural education in Colorado.

Tour a perfectly restored 1888 one-room schoolhouse just north of Durango, ring the original bell, snap golden-hour photos, and follow our insider tips for a family-friendly heritage loop back to Junction West.

Inside Durango’s 1889 Bank Robbery and Frontier Justice

Reenactment of an 1889 bank robbery in a Western-style bank, with an outlaw in a dust-covered coat confronting a nervous clerk behind a wooden counter, sepia-toned lighting and period details evoke frontier-era Durango, Colorado.

Trace Butch Cassidy’s 1889 getaway, Durango’s hidden bank shootouts, and frontier-era lynching sites on an easy loop from our riverside resort.

Inside Strater Hotel’s 1887 Singer Sewing Parlor: Stitching Frontier Stories

Antique Singer sewing machine on walnut table with vintage fabric, sewing notions, and turquoise jewelry, softly lit in a Victorian-style parlor setting

Just 2.5 miles from Junction West, Durango’s Strater Hotel reveals its 1887 Singer Sewing Machine parlor—an Insta-ready, kid-friendly, heritage-rich escape you can tour before lunch.

Animas River Bridges: Explore 1880–1920 Engineering Marvels Today!

Historic steel truss bridge spanning a clear river with pine and aspen trees in the background under a partly cloudy sky

Walk, bike or roll a six-mile loop from Junction West to three historic Animas River bridges, with scavenger hunt tips, photo hacks and sunrise-ready viewpoints.

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