10 Best Sights in Southwest Colorado, Colorado

This large, well-kept museum houses an assortment of mining memorabilia, minerals, and local artifacts, including walk-in mining-tunnel replicas. The museum also includes the old San Juan County Jail, built in 1902. Here you can get a glimpse of turn-of-the-20th-century life in the region.

Housed in the 1896 Miner's Hospital, the Telluride Historical Museum hosts exhibits on the town's past, including work in the nearby mines, techniques used by local doctors, and an 860-year-old Native American blanket. It is one of only six Smithsonian-affiliated museums in Colorado.

Occupying the original Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Depot, the museum paints a vivid portrait of the town's rough-and-tumble early days. It also includes World War I and World War II exhibits.

This museum is housed in rooms that modern miners blasted out of solid rock to commemorate the lives of 1880s-era miners and trace the history of mining in the area. In summer, there are guided tours at 10 and 3 daily, but before 2:15 pm you can also take a self-guided audio tour. Reservations are recommended.

Housed in an 1893 hardware store, this museum showcases the essentials for life in an 1880s mining town, such as clothing, furniture, and household items. There's an intricate diorama of the town in the 1920s, complete with a moving train, plus exhibits on skiing, sledding, biking, and Flauschink, a quirky local ceremony that welcomes the return of spring.

Housed in a replica of the town's 1880s-era train station, this museum displays Galloping Goose No. 5, one of only seven specially designed engines built in the 1930s. The "Geese" were motored vehicles built from touring-car bodies that could operate for much less than steam-powered engines.

Anyone interested in the region's history shouldn't miss the Pioneer Museum. The complex spreads across six acres and includes an extensive collection of vehicles, from Model Ts to 1960s sedans. There are also two old schoolhouses; an impressive display of arrowheads; mining exhibits; and a train, complete with coal tender, caboose, and boxcar. Admission is cash only.

Run by a retired archaeologist, the museum depicts life in Colorado from the late 1800s to the 1940s. It features roughly 500,000 artifacts and 23 buildings, including a schoolhouse, church, carriage works, and jail cell, as well as homesteads and teepee replicas.

This small but surprisingly stocked museum housed in an 1887 hospital highlights the history of mining, ranching, and railroading in the San Juan Mountains. The basement features a life-size model mine tunnel, as well as an impressive collection of locally found gems and minerals. Other exhibits include Native American artifacts and depictions of domestic and commercial life in the late 1800s.

If you're interested in the lives of the region's original residents, stop by the renovated Ute Indian Museum, 3 miles south of town. The museum contains several dioramas and the most comprehensive collection of Ute materials and artifacts in Colorado. It's housed in the 1956 homestead of Ute Chief Ouray and his wife, Chipeta. Today, the complex includes the Chief Ouray Memorial Park, Chipeta's Crypt, a native plants garden, picnic areas, and shaded paths linked to the citywide walking trail.