About This Trip
The Trails and Rails package is all about the San Juan’s astounding scenery! This trip starts with a morning cruise up the San Juan Skyway on a Mild to Wild shuttle.
This famous route to Silverton features some of the most dramatic views in Colorado, with 14,000 ft. peaks looming around every turn as you climb higher and higher over Molas Pass.
Once you roll into the charmingly historic town of Silverton, you will have an opportunity to use the rest room as the driver changes out vehicles to our open air tour 4×4 tour vehicles for the rugged terrain.
Along the way you’ll explore 150-year-old mining settlements, flourishing meadows, and panoramic views of the San Juan Mountains.
Your guide will give you the best stories, interp and puns possible, and are readily equipped to answer any questions you may have about the area.
After a few hours spent in the pristine alpine of the San Juan Mountains, you’ll return to Silverton for some time to shop and grab lunch before the train departs. For the last leg of the journey, you’ll ride through the jaw dropping Animas River Canyon.
The views from the train will be completely different from your shuttle ride, as you’ll be traversing a different side of the mountains and into a more remote stretch of the Weminuche Wilderness. You’ll arrive back at the train station just in time for dinner!
How to Book
How to Get the Most out of a Durango Train Ride
Itinerary
Shuttle to Silverton • Silverton Jeep Tour • Train Back to Durango
Booking Options
Morning Shuttle to Silverton & Jeep Tour
Take the scenic shuttle up to Silverton in the morning, enjoy an early Jeep tour, and ride back to Durango late in the afternoon.
Book your Durango Train Ticket here! (The train only sells round-trip tickets, so don’t let the description throw you off!)
Need some guidance? Check out our instructions on How to Book the Trails and Rails Package.
- Ages 4+
Our Client Reviews from Google
Robert Sharp2025-07-24Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Rafting was great for first timers. Dillon was awesome working and helping Tim that was visually impaired. Great job and I highly recommend there service. Ron Howard2025-07-24Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. During our family of four 40-day adventure we spent four nights in Durango, Colorado. My 12 and 13 year old daughters had never been rafting so the Lower Animas Rafting 3/4 day adventure was the perfect choice. Steven was our guide and was the best! He ensured we were prepared before stepping into the raft. Safety, technique, and fun were the agenda for the day. While the river was lower than normal it was fun navigating different ways to get past the many rocks. It was also nice that Steven suggested we grab some trash that washed was stuck in river debris. Tyler was another guide helping kayakers we traveled with and was really nice. It was fun interacting and enjoying the perfect day together. I recommend the 3/4 day which includes lunch and more time on the river. There was plenty of time to jump for a swim and we even surfed one of the rapids. Eric Steinberg2025-07-24Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. All the folks at Mild to Wild are great and clearly love what they do. It’s like rafting with friends. My son, his friend and I had a great time! A special shout out to our guide Ryan who was outstanding and a ton of fun. Michael Barber2025-07-23Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Had a fantastic raft ride with Mild to Wild’s guide Toby. He was funny, informative and clearly very skilled at his job. We did a “Mild” ride but he still managed to take us on a class 2/3 rapid for a little wild and talked us through perfectly . 10/10 would definitely recommend Adam Kane2025-07-23Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We did a 3/4 day rafting trip, and had a FANTASTIC time! Our guide was Stephen, and he was AWESOME! Really professional on the water, and worked with us early on to work as a team on the water. The rapids were a blast, and the lunchtime stop was refreshing with some local sandwiches. Would HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! Ronny Robinson2025-07-23Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Sam is a great guide! We did the 1/2 day raft, and it was great! Toby was a guide in another raft, and they had good comradery going down the river together! Great time! Jacob Finseth2025-07-23Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Ryan our guide was the best captain 🫡. - The Fantastic 4️⃣ Beth Barber2025-07-23Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Fantastic time on the River with Toby as our guide. Friendly, knowledgeable, concerned about safety and clear instructions. Great time! Thank you Toby! Mel Garofalo2025-07-23Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. My wife and I booked a half day tour of Arches NP with Mild to Wild while staying in Moab. Due to the high temperatures and our age, we were not looking for strenuous hiking so we booked a guided tour on an air conditioned 15 passenger van. It turned out we were the only two who had booked this tour so we essentially had a private tour with Darren, our driver and guide. He was extremely knowledgeable, interesting to talk to and overall provided a great 4.5 hour experience. We stopped frequently, sometimes for short hikes, others for pictures. He left it up to us as to how much hiking we did. Besides doing Arches tours Darren does river raft trips and jeep tours as well. Highly recommend him and his company.
What are you waiting for? Call today (800) 567-6745 OR (970) 247-4789
Payments & Cancellations
Payment Options
- 1/2 down, 1/2 charged 30 days prior to trip.
- 1/3 down with remaining balance charged in thirds.
- Call for other arrangements!
Free Courtesy Hold
We don’t want you to miss out on this trip so we’ll hold your spots, payment-free, for 24hrs while you make your final arrangements & prepare for payment.
Fees
In addition to the listed trip cost, we collect an additional 9% for River and Land Access Fees (ie. Forest Service, BLM, City, Private Land Use).
Train Cancellations
The Durango Train’s Cancellation Policy includes a fee of $14 per adult and $7 per child. No refunds will be issued within 5 days of train trip.
Mild to Wild CANCELLATIONs (Shuttle & Jeep)
Receive a 90% refund with written notice 36 hours or more before the trip. Less notice, unfortunately there will be no refund.
What to Wear & Bring
- Dress in layers: T-shirt, sweat shirt and a warm jacket (Spring & Fall tours especially)
- Wear dark colors! Unless you don’t mind sporting the soot from the train.
- Gloves (Spring & Fall Tours)
- Beanie and/or Sun Hat
- Rain Jacket
- Light Hiking Shoes
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- Water Bottle – your guide will have water for refills!
- Snacks
- Camera
How To Dress And What To Bring On A Colorado Jeep Tour
Important Considerations
We take different routes around Silverton depending on what people would like to see most. Some trails have more mining history while others are more about the views, so let your guide know what you’re most interested in if you have a preference!
Colorado Car Seat Law states children up to 8 years old must be in an appropriate car seat. Please bring your own.
In fall and spring the temperatures / weather can fluctuate quite a bit. So bring layers with you just in case! The guides usually have blankets as well.
The San Juan Mountains are prone to afternoon rain showers! Bring some rain gear.
For the train, we recommend the open air gondola for summer trips!
You can bring your own snacks for the train, but alcohol is not allowed aboard.
Plan Your Trip
Request Information
Train First Timers Guide
Durango First Timers Guide
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