A Scenic Railroad and a Quiet Town

After a great few days in Santa Fe, we drove 125 miles north and crossed the border to Antonito, Colorado, a charter town of about 700 people.

Some towns vibrate with activity and a sense of excitement, while others resist the chaos tourists bring. As many tourists as the narrow gauge Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad attracts, Antonito, Colorado, maintains its ancestral ease.

The photo gallery is at the end of this post.

Antonito’s main attraction is the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad at the historic Denver and Rio Grande Antonito Depot, one of the few remaining lava rock depots in the country. Hundreds of people board the train several times a week. It is a top-rated activity in the American Southwest.

When the train returns from a day trip to Chama, New Mexico, people scatter out and disappear. None of the people I spoke to on the train overnighted in Antonito. Some came from as far as Colorado Springs.

Antonito is a barren land, but just a few miles west on Highway 17, the Rio Grande National Forest unveils itself before you. Amidst that forest, by the Conejos River, is where our condo on wheels sits for a few days.

Antonito’s ruggedness and southwest authenticity attract us there. The area is a peaceful escape. There are no tourist traps—everything is authentic. Fly fishing and horseback camping adventures, river rafting, off-road trails, nature trails, birdwatching, and scenic drives through mountain roads are big. There are no overpriced services or frivolous decorations—just a real experience.

Antonito has two interesting sites for Catholics and lovers of history and architecture. The Cano Castle is a funky residence whose artist owner turned into an interesting structure. A junkyard castle of sorts. It attracts people only for the opportunity to snap a quick photo because the castle is a private residence without public access.

Another interesting building is a hundred-plus-year-old house in the town’s center. It was the setting for the Jones family residence in the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade film prologue. The house is the Indiana Jones Bed & Breakfast, but from the outside, it looks in disrepair and in need of more adventurous travelers. The Steam Train Hotel is a 2-star hotel on the main street. There are no other hotels in the area, but plenty of campgrounds and cabin rentals.

For me, the highlight is Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, the oldest shrine in Colorado. Legend has it that during a Spanish expedition from Santa Fe in 1858, a donkey in the pack refused to continue right at the place where the church sits today.

Unmotivated by beatings, travelers decided to lighten the stubborn burro’s load. While doing this, they discovered a small statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe and deduced that it was Our Lady of Guadalupe who wanted to stay there. The Guadalupe settlement was established, and an adobe parish was erected in 1863.

The two towers were added in 1874. On Ash Wednesday in 1926, a fire severely damaged the beloved church. By 1927 the community rebuilt the parish, and the bell towers were redone until 1948. Unbelievably, another fire destroyed part of the church on Ash Wednesday of 2016. This last restoration cost over half a million dollars, but the parish was finally added to the National and State Registers of Historic Places.

We attended mass in Spanish. Children were baptized, and the congregation celebrated. Outside, we could see the vast land of the San Luis Valley in the distance.

An intricate prayer labyrinth inductive for meditation and prayer of the rosary is developing adjacent to the parish. The project will include over 50,000 adobe bricks and the five mysteries of the rosary.

The road leading to the parish is lined with plaques honoring veterans. At the end, and before turning the corner to the parish, is a monument to veterans depicting that famous scene of a flag raising on Mount Suribachi captured by Pullitzer price winner Joe Rosenthal. The Conejos County Courthouse with a New Mexico native style building is also in that area.

On Antonito’s main street, Highway 285, there are a couple of restaurants: The Dutch Mill Cafe and Dos Hermanas Steakhouse. There is also a dispensary, the public library, a Lowe’s grocery store, and Chavez Southwest Market and Spice Shop. There are few to no people on the streets. It is quiet except for the traffic along 285, but even that is not bothersome.

After mass, we enjoyed lunch at the Dutch Mill Cafe. We were the only outsiders, but we didn’t mind the locals talking to each other across from their tables reporting who attended church earlier that morning.

You can board The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in two places: Antonito and Chama, NM. Chama is more the happening place with numerous visitors and RVers. The ride is one-way, and a luxury passenger bus brings you back to the depot you boarded at. For those boarding in Antonito, there is no time to shop in Chama before returning, which was disappointing.

Fall is ideal for a scenic train ride to marvel at the glory of the color-changing leaves over the mountains. Let the National Historic Landmark steam locomotive take you through a 64-mile journey of steep mountain canyons, high deserts, lush meadows, trestles, and tunnels.

Antonito and Chama are about 180 miles from the Albuquerque Airport. For road trip lovers, you can plan your trip with the Roadtrippers application, and for RVers, we recommend the RVLife PRO application. No money is charged or collected for these recommendations. They have been tried and true by us for several years now.

Antonito is a hidden gem; we would not mind returning a third time, and we would also consider extending the trip to spend time in Chama.

Thank you for reading my story. If you have any questions, please contact me at contact@nydiao.com.