Live Like The Old West
In A Durango Cabin

Who wouldn’t want a Durango cabin to make their stay feel more authentic? A rustic retreat from your everyday life—a quiet interlude in the gorgeous San Juan Mountains?

Our own Durango cabin, my Mom’s A-frame Lightner High Canyon Cabins used to be what were known as “housekeeping cabins”, complete with small kitchens (with their own pots and pans), and a loft-style upstairs (up a very steep, ladder-like stairway).

When the tourist business took a nose-dive, and we got tired of keeping up with the laundering of linens and sometimes daily cleaning of cabins, she turned to renting them by the month. (A different sort of cabin rental in Durango Colorado!)

But Durango still has a nice variety of similar places to stay; one of which I figured out is the place I worked the summer I graduated from high school!

So check out a Durango cabin. They make me want to try them all to see which is the best place to stay. Maybe we’ll have to start taking mini, one-night stays in some of these, so we can give you firsthand word on what they’re really like!

Bear Paw Lodge
18011 County Road 501
Bayfield CO 81122
Phone: 970-884-2508

Highlights:
In-house kitchens
Fireplaces

This spot for a Durango cabin looks fun! With seven cabins (all named after different kinds of bears, including teddies!), Bear Paw Lodge offers a quiet retreat to stay with your family or friends.

The cabins run from 1-3 bedrooms, and can sleep up to 6 people. All have kitchens and fireplaces, most have decks and picnic tables, as well.

Right near Vallecito Lake, there's plenty to do, spring, summer or fall. Bear Paw Lodge is tucked right up near the Weminuche Wilderness, if your fancy runs to really getting away from it all!

Please note: This resort is only open May through November, though, so plan accordingly.

Blue Spruce RV Park & Cabins
1875 Country Road 500
Bayfield CO 81122
Phone: 970-884-2641
Fax: 970-884-9586
Toll-free: 1-888-884-2641

Highlights:
Fully furnished
Direct TV
Cooking facilities
Front porch
WiFi

Another choice for a Durango cabin, Blue Spruce RV Park & Cabins obviously caters to the camping crowd, as well as those who like a bit more shelter. Their cabins all have their own bathroom facilities, so you don’t need to traipse across the grounds for a shower.

They also have a country store onsite, as well as mail service available. A game room and exercise equipment are also offered, as well as an outdoor pavilion, and a multi-use hall with kitchen facilities, fireside seating.

They offer seasonal pancake breakfasts as well as seasonal artist workshops. Nice extras if you can go when these are available. Tucked among Ponderosa pines, and just south of Vallecito Lake, these cabins are a great place to get away from it all.

Durango Resort on Vallecito Lake
14452 County Road 501
Bayfield CO 81122
Phone: 970-884-2517
Fax: 970-884-7712
Toll-free: 1-866-280-LAKE

Highlights:
Cabins from one room to two storey
Right on the lake
Small grocery store on premises
Full service marina on premises

Another great Durango cabin location, this resort offers both a place to stay, and things to do right there! You can get fishing licenses, fishing gear, fishing boats...Great place for those who love to fish.

And for those who love a beautiful setting, this is a great spot, too. And not too far from the doings in Durango, yet a quiet retreat at the end of the day.

Elk Point Lodge
21730 County Road 501
Bayfield CO 81122
Phone: 970-884-2482

Highlights:
Right on Vallecito Lake
Boat rentals available
Horseback riding on premises
"General store" onsite

Wow...I just realized that this Durango cabin resort is the place I worked the summer I graduated from high school! Still the same great location on the "point" of the lake between two rivers that supply its water.

I can't remember the name the place had the summer I worked as a wrangler there (leading trail rides and caring for the horses). But I remember the owners of the time, Suzie and Gwenivere.

New owners, but still lots of amenities. Secluded Durango Colorado cabins are what you get here, at the end of the main road around Vallecito.

Not only can you stay here, you can horseback ride right outside your door, fish or boat, or sit at the main lodge and relax with family and friends.

Hunting is easy when they offer semi-guided or fully guided hunts. And winter play is just as fun with guided snowmobiling, or cross-country skiing at your own pace.

Sounds like a super cabin rental in Durango Colorado, doesn't it?

Five Branches Camper Park
4677 County Road 501-A
Bayfield CO 81122
Phone: 970-884-2582
Fax: 970-884-9765
open mid-May through mid September

Highlights:
Onsite groceries
Play area
Right on the lake

We’ve listed this Durango cabin location because it not only caters to campers, but has several cabins and cottages you can rent, as well. And the location is one of our favorites. We hope to try it out next summer.

Right on the shore of Lake Vallecito (on the “quiet” side of the lake), it’s tucked beneath towering Ponderosa pines, with breathtaking views. To one side runs the Pine River, one of the two rivers that flow into Vallecito Lake.

They have several small cabins and cottages you can rent, from “camper cabins” with minimal amenities to cabins with bathrooms and kitchenettes. They also have a small grocery onsite, for those items you may have forgotten, plus a small play area for the kids. They offer weekend breakfasts and a Sunday potluck, too. Obviously, since you’re right on a river and lake, there’s fishing right at hand.

If you like birds, we also go to that side of the lake to view ospreys (our daughter is crazy for raptors). While one of our Colorado bird book asserts that ospreys only migrate through the area, the ospreys obviously didn’t read it.

They nest in the tops of dead pines, eating fish from the lake. Not only that, but in 2002, when all the huge fires were going on right at the lake, the adults stayed on the nests through the fires and fledged their young!

You can see ospreys from early April until late August (or perhaps into September), and the babies usually fledge from late July to early August.

Truly a gorgeous setting. Come check out this place for a Durango cabin, and maybe you’ll see us there! Or parked down the road watching the ospreys…

Lightner Creek Campground & Camper Cabins
1567 Country Road 207
Durango CO 81301
Phone: 970-247-5406

Highlights:
Heated swimming pool
Small grocery/gift shop onsite
Game room

Another choice for a Durango cabin, Lightner Creek Campground & Camper Cabins offers 3 choices of places to stay if you don’t have your own camping gear, but want more of a camping experience than a motel.

First, they have camping cabins, which they describe as “wooden tents”. These are simply 10x12 foot single room structures without electricity (but with 12V lighting). They include 2 double beds, stacked as bunks, and a picnic table right outside.

Next, they have 2 lodge rooms you can rent in their main building. Each has a private entrance, private bath, 1 bedroom and a sleeper sofa in the living room. The amenities of a campground with the comfort of a motel suite.

Last, they have housekeeping cabins. While small, they do have a separate bedroom, bunk beds and a sleeper sofa. In addition, they have fully equipped kitchens, a picnic table and BBQ grill right outside.

This one is right on my Mom’s road, and we drive past it all the time. It’s tucked right next to Lightner Creek and a mountainside, amidst tall cottonwood trees. The camper spots seem a bit cramped to us, but it has the pool and a quiet location to offer. They are open May 1st through early to mid-September.

O-Bar-O Cabins
11998 County Road 240
Durango Co 81301
Phone: 970-259-3649

Highlights:
Fully equipped kitchenettes
Fireplace or gas stove in each cabin
Picnic table and BBQ grills

Still another great choice of a Durango cabin, the rustic O-Bar-O Cabins sit along the Florida River (that's Flo- REE- da, not FLOR i-da), not far from Vallecito Lake. They have nine cabins on the property which can house from 1 to 7 guests. Also for guests, they have a horseshoe pit, a volleyball court, a basketball court, and room to hit a few golf balls.

Just up the road, you can visit Lemon Dam or Vallecito Lake, or head into Durango, just ten miles away. Horseback riding trails are close by as well. A nice, quiet retreat for your vacation.

Pine River Lodge
14443 County Road 501
Bayfield Co 81122
Phone: 970-884-2563

Highlights:
Great Vallecito Lake views
Fireplaces in some cabins
Full kitchens in all cabins
TV and VCR in each cabin
Large playground onsite

This Durango cabin resort is another property right on Vallecito Lake. It boasts cabins that can sleep anywhere form 2-11 people with prices that fit any pocketbook. There's even an indoor pool onsite (the lake is cold for swimming) which has one hour each morning slated just for the adults!

Like the other Vallecito resorts, this one sells fishing licenses and hunting licenses, as well as firewood for the fireplaces some cabins have.

And to me, one of the best parts is it's been owned and operated by the same family since 1960!

I hope you find a place to your liking. I’d love to hear your comments on which places were best at catering to their customers. You can use our Rate your stay in Durango survey to let us know what you think. Then we can give a better review of the options for a Durango cabin. Enjoy!

If you’d like to check out any other Durango Colorado vacation lodging options, click on any of the links below:

Bed and Breakfasts In Durango Colorado
Durango Colorado Camping
Durango Colorado Condos and Townhomes
Durango Colorado Guest Ranch
Durango Colorado Hotels
Durango Resort
Durango Vacation Rentals
Durango Motels


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