Getting there

By air: The Durango-La Plata County Airport is 40 miles south of Durango Mountain Resort and about 15 miles from downtown Durango.

By car: The resort is 25 miles from Durango, 350 miles southwest of Denver, 232 miles northwest of Albuquerque and 470 miles northeast of Phoenix. There are no major mountain passes from the south or west. In summary, Durango is a four-hour drive from Albuquerque. It's six-plus hours from Denver in the winter over numerous mountain passes, which frequently close when it snows. Chains or 4WD are occasionally required on Hwy. 550N heading from Durango to the resort during and immediately after major snowstorms; however, 99 percent of the time front-wheel drive is all that's needed.

If you don't need lessons or rentals, the bunny hill offers the fastest access onto the mountain. Either get off the shuttle at the bunny hill or park your car in one of the two lower lots. You can purchase your lift tickets here, and at the end of the day, ski back to your car. From the bunny hill ride the Graduate lift directly to the Purgatory Village Express. To access the upper parking lots requires either chains or 4WD, and you'll do a lot more schlepping in ski boots and waiting in line at the base village than if you park low.

Getting around: Visitors have several ground transportation options: (1) Rent a car. If possible, request front wheel drive. The Durango airport has a number of rental agencies. Cars can also be rented at the Strater and Doubletree hotels. Ask about transportation when making a reservation. (2) Some of the larger hotels offer shuttle service to and from the slopes. Others offer free or low-cost airport shuttles. Some lodges on the north end of town offer free nightlife shuttles for guests. (3) Mountain TranSport shuttles between town and the slopes, nine round trips between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Call the resort for departure times and places. In-town pickup points with signs listing the current schedule include the 25th St. fairgrounds and a shuttle stop at 34th St., just north of Christina's restaurant. (4) Durango Transportation (970-259-4818) provides on-call taxi service as well as airport pick-ups. (5) The Durango Trolley, a red minibus decorated to resemble an antique trolley, provides in-town service up and down Main Avenue year round, every 30 minutes. The fare is 50 cents. Winter hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (6) More than a few locals simply hitchhike from this point rather than waiting for the bus. Locals typically stop and pick up riders; ask if you can contribute money for gas.

Downtown Durango is delightfully walkable. Here's something to know when trying to find a Durango street address: Nearly all of Durango's streets have numbered names. The streets parallel to Main are "Avenues" and the numbers usually are spelled out (Second Avenue, for example). The streets that intersect Main all are "Streets" and the number is seldom spelled out. Most tourists hang out on Main between 5th and 11th, and occasionally venture onto Second Avenue. 6th Street is better known as "College Drive."