Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The terraced pink adobe hotel (rooms from $189) features a spa, offers ski packages
and welcomes pets. The cheapest rooms are nothing special, while sprawling deluxe
rooms feature thicker mattresses, higher thread-count sheets and kitchenette.
RAFTING
Pagosa Outside
( 970-264-4202;
www.pagosaoutside.com
;
350 Pagosa St; full-day Upper Piedra trips $150; 10am-6pm, re-
duced hr winter; )
Check out this outfitter's springtime white-water trips (class III) on the
San Juan and Piedra Rivers. The most exciting travels Mesa Canyon, ideal to sight eagles
and other wildlife. Rivers mellow in summer and the focus turns to river tubing ($15 for
two hours) and mountain-biking trips, including a thrilling singletrack route at Turkey
Creek, and rentals ($35 per day).
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
THE SECRET POWDER STASH
Boasting Colorado's highest annual snowfall, little old
Wolf Creek Ski Area
( 970-264-5639;
www.wolfcreekski.com
; lift ticket adult/child $56/30; Nov-mid-Apr; ) offers a white-carpet ride without
comparison. Steep and deep, it's awesome for advanced skiers and boarders, with waist-high powder after a big
storm blows through.
Located 25 miles north of Pagosa Springs on US 160, this family-owned ski area gets over 465in of light and
dry powder per year - that's 150in more than Vail. Eight lifts service 70 trails, from wide-open bowls to steep tree
glades. The on-site ski school has lessons for beginners and children.
For cross-country skiing, many backcountry and groomed trails that lead into quiet, pristine forest are avail-
able. It's some of the most remote Nordic skiing in the state. Contact the USFS Pagosa Ranger Station for details.
Long considered a Colorado secret, its distance from major airports and big urban areas has reinforced its
happy isolation. There are no lodgings onsite, so it's not a destination ski area. Your best bet is to stay in Pagosa
Springs, on the west side of the pass, or South Fork, on the east.
Sleeping
Since the hot springs are a year-round draw, hotels in the area hold their rates fairly
steady. A number of motels and new hotels sprawl out from the town center on US 160.
Usually, the equation is fairly straightforward: the further away from the hot springs, the
better the deal.
Pagosa Huts
( 970-264-1543, 970-264-2268;
www.pagosa-huts.com
; San Juan National Forest; cabins $60)
These remote,
basic huts are perfect for people trying to get out into the national forest, and they are
CABINS
$
