Soaring in the Rugged San Juans

Beneath the waving tops of majestic Ponderosa pines, the rough and rocky San Juan Mountains share an ancient story. Soaring Tree Top Adventures, nestled in a meadow high among the rugged peaks, is the perfect place to explore the geologic secrets of the southern Rocky Mountains. Come join our Soaring family for a day of adventure, imagination, and excitement in this legendary landscape. Your visit to Soaring begins with a ride in our luxurious first class train car on the historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. As the restored locomotive carries you higher into the San Juans along the path of the thundering Animas River, the mountains reveal a feast of colors for your eyes. Brilliant red and tan cliffs of sandstone and shale erupt from the green slopes on both sides of the valley. Buried here are the fossils of an ancient shallow sea that lapped at the ancestral Rocky Mountains long before dinosaurs explored the land.

As your journey continues, the train continues steadily upward, breaking out of the layered cliffs into narrow canyons of granite and volcanic rock. Make sure your camera is ready for the Highline, a stunning section of the track that carries you along a precipitous cliff high above the churning waters of the river rushing south. Look up to see the towering San Juan peaks ahead and allow your imagination to paint the turbulent volcanoes that powerfully reshaped the range thirty million years ago. Envision the glaciers of the last ice age, which gouged deep into the mountains to carve the steep canyons and broad meadows of the Animas River Valley.

This ride through the past is but the first step on your Soaring journey. Prepare to witness the magic and history of these mountains from high in the Ponderosa canopy as your soar across our 27 sweeping spans. Your day of Soaring will carry you up to grand viewpoints, over glacially carved cliffs, and above the tumbling river that continues to shape the valley today. Enjoy our first class hospitality as you experience new thrills in an ancient setting and make memories that will last forever. We invite you to write your own chapter in the story of this land.

Eco Insight: Buy recyclable shopping bags to use instead of plastic grocery bags that clutter trash dumps and can be harmful to the environment. In addition to using these bags for shopping, they make great beach or picnic totes. Store them in your car so they are ready to use whenever you stop at the store.