Durango · Historic Animas City · Local history museum
Animas Museum
Step into the 1904 Animas City School, a sandstone schoolhouse turned free local history museum, with a restored 1905 classroom, Wild West stories and an 1870s log cabin on Durango’s north side.
Opens the museum’s website, with current hours and upcoming events. Admission is free; donations are appreciated.
Details checked October 2026
Type
History museum
In the 1904 Animas City School
Admission
Free
Donations appreciated
Hours
Tue, Thu, Sat 10–4 · Wed, Fri 1–4
No Sun or Mon hours posted; no separate winter hours
Time needed
1–2 hours
A Tripadvisor reviewer’s suggestion
Parking
Not posted
Call ahead about large vehicles
Built
1904–1905
National Register of Historic Places
What you’ll see
A schoolhouse full of La Plata County stories
The La Plata County Historical Society fills the old Animas City School with local history, from pioneer cabins to Wild West lawmen.
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith on Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Start here
The restored 1905 classroom
The museum’s permanent exhibit recreates a schoolroom from the early 1900s, with high ceilings, tall double-hung windows, schoolhouse lights, slate blackboards and ornate desks. It sits inside the building it describes: the three-story sandstone Animas City School, built in 1904–1905 and for decades the town’s school and community center.
RV tip: on Wednesdays and Fridays the doors don’t open until 1 pm, so plan a morning elsewhere in town and come over after lunch.
More to see
- Moments That Made USThe newest exhibit ties the ideals of the Declaration of Independence to moments from the nation’s 250 years and the county’s own history, built around a Crossroads map table about how the land shaped travel here.
- Law and DisorderThe true Wild West: Sheriff T.J. McCluer Jr. and his belongings, roaming cowboys, and a local feud the museum compares to the Hatfields and McCoys.
- Wish You Were HereCreated with the Smithsonian’s Journey Stories, this exhibit tells how people came to settle in La Plata County.
- Forged by FlameHow fire changed the county, updated for the tenth anniversary of the 2002 Missionary Ridge fire. The school itself lost its roof and bell tower to a fire on Halloween night 1919.
Why go
The town that was here before Durango
Long before Durango absorbed it, Animas City was its own town on the Animas River. Its first school was a log cabin; by 1905 the town had built the “rock schoolhouse” from sandstone quarried just north of town. It was the largest building Animas City ever built and served as its school and community center until Durango annexed the town in 1948.
A fire on Halloween night 1919 destroyed the original roof and bell tower. The quick flat-roof repair lasted more than 80 years, until the La Plata County Historical Society rebuilt the roof to its original design in 2007, work that won the state’s 2008 Governor’s Award for historic preservation. The building joined the National Register of Historic Places on April 23, 2019.
For RVers it is an easy, low-key stop: free, indoors, and a short drive from the parks on Durango’s north side. It also fills a quiet afternoon in late fall and winter, since the museum posts no separate winter schedule.
Photo: Twalsy on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Why it made our list
- Free admission; donations appreciated
- A 1904 schoolhouse on the National Register
- A restored 1905 classroom
- About 2.5 miles from United Campground of Durango
- Open five days a week
For RVers
Visiting the museum from your RV park
The practical stuff we wished someone had told us before we pulled in.
Bring the tow vehicle
The museum sits on a residential corner at West 2nd Avenue and 31st Street and doesn’t post any parking details or RV limits. Leave the rig at camp and come in the tow vehicle or car, or call (970) 259-2402 first if you have to bring something big.
Time it to the schedule
The museum is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, and Wednesday and Friday from 1 pm to 4 pm. No Sunday or Monday hours are listed, so plan around those days.
Pets
The museum doesn’t publish a pet policy, so ask before bringing a dog inside. Don’t leave pets in a parked vehicle while you browse, even on a cool fall day with sun on the windows.
Make it a history day
The museum’s website offers free self-guided walking tour PDFs for Historic Downtown Durango, the Third Avenue Residential District and Animas City. Pair one with your visit for a full day of local history.
What visitors say about Animas Museum
The visitor report card
We don’t copy other sites’ reviews, but the published scores are worth reading together. Scores checked October 24, 2026.
To keep La Plata County history and culture alive for present and future generations.
The La Plata County Historical Society’s mission · animasmuseum.org
What visitors often mention
Popular mentions on Tripadvisor
Great historyNative Americans
Tripadvisor lists “great history” and “Native Americans” among its popular mentions for the museum; it doesn’t show counts. Checked October 24, 2026.
The building through time
Dates from the museum’s building history page. Durango annexed Animas City in 1948, which is why the school now sits on the city’s north side.
Good to know
AdmissionFree donations appreciated
Research help$20 per hour
MembershipFrom $50 per year
Free to see1905 classroomLaw and DisorderWish You Were Here
From the Animas Museum’s website, checked October 24, 2026. Research help is for students, authors and genealogists; membership supports the La Plata County Historical Society.
Know before you go
Plan your visit
Animas Museum
- Address3065 W. 2nd Ave., Durango, CO 81301
- HoursTue, Thu, Sat 10–4 · Wed, Fri 1–4
No Sun or Mon hours posted; no separate winter hours - Phone(970) 259-2402
- AdmissionFree; donations appreciated. See upcoming events
- Getting thereThe museum is at the corner of West 2nd Avenue and 31st Street, in the old Animas City part of Durango’s north side.
- ParkingThe museum doesn’t post parking details. Come in your tow vehicle or car, and call ahead if you need room for something larger.
The museum lists the same hours year-round, with no winter schedule, but small museums can close for holidays, events or snow. Check the website or call before you drive over.
Where to stay nearby
RV parks near Animas Museum
These are the Durango parks we have written up that sit closest to the museum. Distances are road miles from OpenStreetMap routing.
United Campground of Durango
A long-running family campground at the north edge of Durango, where the narrow-gauge steam train rolls right through, with a heated pool and a trolley stop to downtown.
Alpen Rose RV Park
A big, grassy full-hookup park under the red cliffs just north of Durango, with a seasonal pool, camp store and dog park, open all year.
HTR Durango Campground
Wooded creek and canyon sites in a quiet box canyon west of Durango, with full hookups, a seasonal pool and cabins.
Helpful answers
Frequently asked questions
The questions RVers ask most before pulling in.
Tue, Thu, Sat 10–4 · Wed, Fri 1–4
Ready to step back into Animas City?
Check the hours, leave the rig at camp, and give yourself an hour or two in the old rock schoolhouse. Admission is free.
Thank you to the people behind these photos and this video. Please support them by giving their work a look. Photos: Carol M. Highsmith (schoolhouse, sandstone corner and Joy Cabin, 2015; public domain, Library of Congress), Jeffrey Beall (front steps; CC BY 4.0), the USGS (Animas Valley, 1903; public domain) and Twalsy (Durango from Animas City Mountain; CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons; the images were resized. Video: Revisiting History on YouTube (museum tour). Review-site logos are trademarks of their owners.
Disclaimer
RV-Roundup is an independent, community-based resource created to help RV travelers and to support and promote the places we feature. RV-Roundup is not owned by, operated by, or officially affiliated with Animas Museum unless otherwise stated.
The information on this page was prepared using the most current details available at the time of publication, including the museum’s published materials and publicly available sources. Hours, pricing, rules and other details are set by the museum and may change at any time without notice. Before you travel, please confirm all details directly with Animas Museum at animasmuseum.org or (970) 259-2402. RV-Roundup is not responsible for errors, omissions, or changes made after publication.
We will always do our best to keep this page up to date. Thank you to everyone who contributes; we truly appreciate your help and support.