Colorado & New Mexico Frontiers

Colorado & New Mexico Frontiers

Tours Starts: Denver, Colorado

Tours Ends: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Day 1

Arrive in Denver

Arrive in the Mile High City. Guests who booked their air with YMT will be met by a YMT representative and transferred to their hotel. The evening is at your leisure.

Sheraton Denver Tech Center or similar

Day 2

Alamosa via Colorado Springs

Start your tour at the aptly named Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It features towering red sandstone formations jutting dramatically hundreds of feet in the air against the snow-capped backdrop of 14,000-feet-tall Pike’s Peak. The Garden of the Gods is one of Colorado’s most photographed sites, and you will have plenty of time to appreciate and document these spectacular views.
Next, enjoy a fun stop at the Colorado Springs Ghost Town Museum, an indoor collection of historic structures and everyday artifacts from over a century ago. Housed in a stone building used by the Colorado Midland Railroad, the Ghost Town Museum takes you all the way back to Colorado’s Wild West. You’re invited to man a pan at the museum’s authentic gold trough!
Your final stop is at the Colorado Welcome Center in Alamosa. Learn about the surrounding region in this restored historic train station, and then check into your hotel in Alamosa and enjoy the evening at your leisure. (B)

Hampton Inn Alamosa or similar

Day 3

Durango via Pagosa Springs

Start your day with a visit to Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, where North America's tallest dunes rise over 750 feet high against the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve spans over 30 miles, and contains over 5 billion cubic meters of sand to create the largest sandbox in North America.
Enjoy lunch on your own in Pagosa Springs, found at the base of the Continental Divide. Known for its amazing natural hot springs, plentiful sunshine, and small-town charm, Pagosa Springs is an ideal stop for a leisurely bite to eat before continuing on to Durango for the night. (B)

Durango Downtown Inn similar

Day 4

Durango

Step into the past and experience the lives of one of America’s oldest cultures, the Pueblo people, on your visit to the cliffside dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park. The park includes more than 4,000 archeological sites dating back to A.D. 550, including cliff dwellings and mesa top sites from the Ancestral Pueblo peoples who lived here for more than 700 years.
Your next stop is historic Silverton, where you will enjoy leisure time in this National Historic Landmark founded in 1874 in the San Juan Mountains. After the railroad reached the town in 1882, the surrounding region experienced a mining boom that lasted until the 1910s.
Take an unforgettable train ride from Silverton to Durango on the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which has been in continuous operation between Durango and Silverton since 1882. Enjoy dazzling panoramic vistas and an authentic experience on this line built to haul silver and gold ore. Enjoy a relaxing night in Durango. (B)

Durango Downtown Inn or similar

Day 5

Taos and Taos Pueblo

Your first stop of the day is in Chama, a delightful, history-rich town nestled high in the Southern Rockies. Enjoy lunch on your own and a walking tour of the Chama Train Depot. Next, stop at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. The bridge spans 1,280 feet, and at 650 feet above the Rio Grande, it is the fifth highest bridge in the United States.
Continue to Taos for a memorable stop at the Taos Pueblo. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is the home of one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States; some structures are over 1,000 years old. The Pueblo is made entirely of adobe — earth mixed with water and straw, then either poured into forms or made into sun-dried bricks. The outside surfaces of the Pueblo are continuously maintained by replastering with thick layers of mud. Interior walls are carefully coated with thin washes of white earth to keep them clean and bright. (B)

Hotel Don Fernando de Taos by Hilton or similar

Day 6

Santa Fe via Los Alamos

Make a morning stop the Spanish Colonial-style adobe San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church. The church is one of Taos’ most iconic structures and was the subject of several paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe and photographs by Ansel Adams.
After lunch on your own, tour the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos. Approximately 60 interactive exhibits trace the history of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s involvement in the Manhattan Project during WWII, and highlight the laboratory's current and historic research projects. Transfer to Santa Fe for a walking tour including Loretto Chapel, Central Plaza, and Palace of the Governors. (B)

The Lodge at Santa Fe or similar

Day 7

Albuquerque

Your final stop of the trip will be Albuquerque. Explore an historic ghost town, and then visit the one-of-a-kind Albuquerque Balloon Museum. The mission of the museum is to inspire a spirit of exploration, discovery, and achievement through experiences that engage visitors in the history, science, sport, and art of ballooning. Spend your final evening on tour enjoying the charming city of Albuquerque at your own pace. (B)

Best Western Plus Rio Grande Inn or similar

OPTION: SANDIA PEAK TRAM & DINNER:

Take a ride on the Sandia Peak tram, the longest aerial tram in the Americas. After enjoying the views of Albuquerque from the peak, enjoy a 3-course meal at a local restaurant. $79 p/p. Please add this option at time of booking.

Day 8

Depart for Home (B)

Please note that this is a proposed itinerary; the actual itinerary may vary due to season, special events, or weather. Hotels may differ depending on date. Because our tour arrangements are often made a year or more in advance, YMT Vacations reserves the right to alter the itinerary. Itinerary changes are made to improve your vacation experience, as well as respond to any unforeseen circumstances that mandate alterations. By their nature, all tour vacations involve a certain level of physical activity. While YMT tours have been designed with our guests in mind and are not physically demanding, this tour does include walking and periods of standing during the sightseeing visits. You will also encounter steps and some uneven ground along the way, particularly at older, historical sights. Please ask your Travel Consultant for more information.