Photo: A visit to Treasure Falls, as documented by a tourist.
I hear the Pagosa Springs Tourism Board has been struggling a bit this year. Not with a shortage of tourist, but sort of the opposite problem. Too many tourists.
Which got me thinking. What attracts tourists to come here? Sure, it’s a friendly little town, full of nice people. But to be perfectly honest, we tend to get kind of grumpy during the summer tourist season.
Being the curious type, I paid a visit to TripAdvisor.com to find out what tourists think about our little town, and I found a page called “Top Attractions in Pagosa Springs.” It proved to be a collection of recommendations made by the tourists themselves. With photos.
The Number One attraction, and the one that got TripAdvisors “Travelers Choice Award” for 2024 is:
Treasure Falls.
So far this year, 1,089 visitors have voted for Treasure Falls as the Number One attraction in Pagosa Springs. And they’ve posted 545 photos of their visit there.
That’s a lot of photos. Many of them even show the waterfall in question.
My concern, and perhaps yours as well, is that, technically, Treasure Falls isn’t in Pagosa Springs.
In fact, it’s not even in Archuleta County. It’s in Mineral County.
This implies one of two things. Visiting tourists don’t know where they are. Or, they are liars.
Because I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, I will assume the former explanation.
TripAdvisor contributors mentioned other top Pagosa Springs attractions as well. For example, six people chose Silver Falls as their favorite attraction.
Silver Falls is also in Mineral County.
Closer to home, a fair number of people picked Thingamajig Theatre as a top attraction, and almost five people picked Goodman’s Department Store.
The main issue with websites like TripAdvisor is, they tend to encourage people to visit Pagosa Springs, and thus contribute to the “too many tourists” problem. So we should probably be thankful that many of the top attractions in Pagosa Springs aren’t actually in Pagosa Springs.
With that in mind, I asked our Daily Post editor if I could put together do a column featuring my own personal choice of ‘Top Attractions in Pagosa Springs’. He was apparently feeling grumpy, because he responded, “Whatever. Shoot yourself.”
He meant, “Suit yourself”. But he said, “Shoot yourself” as a joke, I guess.
So, here are my top suggestions for our tourist friends.
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
While not technically located in Pagosa Springs — but a mere 60 miles to the west on a scenic drive — the Durango Train promises a taste of authentic railroading history, presented as it was experienced back in 1882. On the way to the quaint mining town of Silverton, you get a closeup view of the burnt forest resulting from the 57,000-acre ‘416 Fire’, allegedly caused by embers emitted by the Durango Train. It’s not everyday you can glimpse the results of a $43 million fire-suppression effort during a picturesque train ride.
The Obelisk in the Santa Fe Plaza
While not technically in Pagosa Springs — but a mere 152 miles to the south on a scenic drive — the obelisk in the central plaza in Santa Fe, NM was erected in 1868 to honor Civil War soldiers, but more recently became a target of protests because of its plaque, which dedicated the obelisk to “the heroes” who fought “savage Indians.” A group of protesters toppled a controversial monument during an Indigenous Peoples’ Day protest in 2020, but you can still take pictures of the location where the obelisk once stood.
Capitol Hill Ghost Tour
While not technically in Pagosa Springs — but a mere 274 miles to the north on a scenic drive — the famous Capitol Hill neighborhood in Denver is notoriously the city’s “most haunted”. On this evening walking tour, you can brave a visit to some of the city’s spookiest spots, and hear stories of paranormal activity, scandals, and murders. Especially, murders.
Disneyland
While not technically in Pagosa Springs — but a mere 863 miles to the west on a scenic drive — Disneyland was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney himself. It opened on July 17, 1955, so it’s sort of historical, and so are many of the rides, and the goofy costumes.
The Taj Mahal
While not technically in Pagosa Springs — but a mere 7,744 miles away if you book a flight over the polar icecaps — the Taj Mahal is a white-marble mausoleum on the banks of the river Yamuna River in India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. So maybe not as frightening as the Ghost Tour in Denver, but still worth seeing.
There are plenty of other tourist-oriented attractions worth seeing, that may not technically be in Pagosa Springs, and I’m merely offering my five favorites. Other local residents would no doubt make totally different recommendations, but I’ve given it my best shot. As my editor suggested, “Shoot yourself.”
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all.