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History Channel producers, documentarians, and photographers take note: ghost towns and abandoned mines litter the San Juan Mountains. The high flats of the Colorado Plateau are intense archeological zones and include Mesa Verde National Park, Hovenweep National Monument and the Anasazi Heritage Center. The 1,000 sq/mi Southern Ute Indian Reservation lies along New Mexico's border and has a herd of bison - and world-class rodeo and fairgrounds.
There's over 700 miles of Scenic Byways and massive ranches with aspen groves and snow-capped mountain ranges that are the darling of photo and catalog shoots, truck commercials and reality/wilderness programs. This area may look a little familiar: the original True Grit was shot in and around beautiful Ridgway.
For ski/mountain shoots, there's the “Divine Trinity” towns of the San Juan Mountains: Telluride, Silverton and Ouray are some of the most remote-feeling and impressive mountain locations in Colorado. Silverton has of the most intense skiing in the nation and Telluride is as famous for its incredible skiing and box canyon location as its celebrity residents. Ouray is a gorgeous restored Victorian-styled mountain town surrounded by 13,000 foot peaks - and has hot springs!
The Cortez area is rich agricultural and ranching land, with orchards, farms and stark open mesas, and close to the arid desert landscapes of the Four Corners.
Durango is a vibrant and crew-rich town, home of the Four Corners Film Office and an ideal regional production hub. It's also home to the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Virtually unchanged since 1887 these steam-powered locomotives are the stuff of production legend, and run the original deep mountain routes made over 100 years ago.
Photos courtesy Durango & Silverton Train, Colorado Tourism, Shoot Colorado.
