La Plata Canyon is in an area west of Durango (on the way to Cortez) with many options of places to hike and bike. We suggest starting out early as it often rains in the afternoon. There are a series of trails and a guide map to tell you were to go to hike through beautiful alpine flowers, columbine, and orchids to a nice alpine lake. This is an ideal spot for your picnic as long as its not too late in the afternoon as afternoon thunderstorms are frequent. This could be an all-day event, so bring a lunch, water, a jacket and your dog!


Location: Go west on Hwy 160 about 10 miles past Durango. You will be in the town of Hesperus. Before you hit the Hesperus Ski Hill, make a right hand turn on to La Plata Canyon Road at the Kenebec Cafe. Drive on this road for 6-14 miles. Along the way there will be dirt roads along the way that were old mining roads. You can explore any of these. There will be an obvious spot when the road comes out of a canyon, and there is another road that branches off that is not nearly as wide or traveled that leads to a bridge. If you take this route, you can hike toward the left and find an old abandoned mine. If you go right, you will cross a creek and follow along to see an old mining cabin, and other mining remnants. If you don't turn off of La Plata Canyon road, eventually you will come to Kenebec Pass. However, most people and most cars cannot just drive up to Kenebec pass because it is an unimproved road that usually requires the use of a high clearance 4x4. So another option is to go as far as your car will allow, and hike or bike to the pass. 

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