Are there any ghosttowns around Montrose or Durango

[bossymann]

Yes you are right. I rather take the train from Chama to Cumbres ,looks to be more scenic and not so long of a train ride.The train from durango to silverton and back takes like 7 to 8 hours and it seems a lot of that time is spent driving through scenery where there is not so much to see. I am glad you put up that link.thanks!I also googled the old mining towns ,it amazes me how people back then built a town in 10000 or even 11000 feet ,things had to be rough .There is so much history here. It seems like Silverton comes closest to looking like a ghosttown with still having people living there .Oury I like also. Telluride must be a big tourism place but it looks so pretty with the mountain in the back. All of these places don't seem to be too far from where I will live ,so that's great. I am reading up on everything, I think Colorado is so beautiful, can't believe I have not been there before.Can't wait!!

[jim9251]

And if you enjoy history, you'll be surrounded by it. Visit the Dinosaur Museum in Fruita, the Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction, the Escalante Canyon in Delta (Jimmy Cagney's Tribute to a Bad Man was filed there), and Ridgway which is an old railroad town and where John Wayne's True Grit was filmed.

Have a great time exploring.

[bossymann]

Thank you all !

[brightdoglover]

Is Ironton still considered a ghost town? I remember reading that the whole thing was for sale. The streets were platted out (is that the right term?) and there were still a few buildings.
When I used to go out to Ridgway to ride at the late lamented San Juan Guest Ranch, there was a day ride up above the valley onto the mountain where an old cabin was leaning. Apparently, in the early 1980s or so, a man in his 90s came to the guy who ran SJGR and wanted to book a family trip up to the cabin, which was homesteaded by his parents and from where he rode a horse three hours down to Ridgway to get to school (and of course had to stay in town with a relative in bad weather). The family loved the trip and thought the cabin and all was just so cool, and the old man said that it was the happiest day when they abandoned the effort and moved into town, as his mother would cry all the time from the isolation and rough living.
It's still up there, I think, part of the Uncompahgre National Forest.

[bossymann]

I checked out Irontown, it is a ghosttown and still has many buildings standing, similar to animas forks.The more I read about it the more it fascinates me. I found a website that tells you which ghosttowns are accessible by passenger car .Actually quite a few. Still would be nice to have a 4 wheel drive.Was watching on youtube how they went up engineer pass .Smokey mountains or blue ridge is nothing in compare to what you got in Colorado.