Located a quick 20-minute drive from Mesa Verde National Park (and just 1.5 hours northeast to Telluride), Dolores is your northern gateway to Colorado's Southwest — and its culture is as alive today just as it was 1,400 years ago when the Ancestral Puebloans lived there.
Dolores is also located on the San Juan Skyway, one of the most stunning drives in Colorado, and it's known for its water sports, as it’s situated on the Dolores River and is mere minutes from the McPhee Reservoir — the second largest body of water in the entire state.
Outside Magazine named Dolores an “adventure base camp for the whole family” for good reason. In addition to its namesake river and the reservoir, Dolores is on the edge of the San Juan National Forest. Throughout the area, you'll find plenty of opportunities for mountain biking and hiking or stand-up paddleboarding and fishing, as well as winter sports like snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Walk through town from Riverside Park to Rowell Park to fish the Gold Medal waters. Or take your bike to Boggy Draw, a mountain-biking and hiking trail network just a few minutes from town. If you prefer a motorized epic, head out on a guided OHV adventure or hit the highway on your motorcycle.
After all your adventuring, saddle up at Dolores River Brewery for a local beer and stroll town to enjoy some riverfront meals. Make a stop at the Galloping Goose Railroad Museum on your stroll. Dolores was established as the railhead for the no-longer-running Rio Grande Southern Railroad, and one of the cars — nicknamed the Galloping Goose — still lives in the town to this day.
Before the railroads, biking trails and microbreweries, Dolores was home to Ancestral Puebloans. You can learn all about the cultural heritage of Ancestral Puebloans and other Native American cultures in the Four Corners region at the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument Visitor Center & Museum just outside of town and at nearby Mesa Verde National Park. The museum at Canyons of the Ancients National Monument displays the history and methods modern archaeologists use to reveal the past and preserve artifacts and records from excavations in the Four Corners area, one of the richest archaeological regions in the United States. From the museum, take a tour of Canyons of the Ancients with expert guides from Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance.