On Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad makes its last scheduled Silverton run of the year. When the train comes back for winter, it won't come this far. Its winter trips go 26 miles out of Durango to Cascade Canyon, turn around, and go back. From the first week of November until spring, Silverton's winter is made of the places that stay open, the storefronts that get covered in art, and a town ski hill that runs when the snow shows up.
That's a short list. It helps to know what's on it before the Greene Street crowds thin out.
The Calendar Between Nov. 1 and Skiing
The quiet season is easiest to see as a run of dates. These come from the railroad, Silverton Mountain, and the Silverton Skijoring organizers.
- Nov. 1, 2026. The last day of the D&SNG's Silverton excursion season, which opened May 2.
- Nov. 20. The Cascade Canyon winter train's service window opens, with departures on selected dates. The railroad's page lists "November 20 through April 30" without a year, so check specific departures before planning around them.
- Dec. 31, 2026. Silverton Mountain starts guided-only skiing, Thursdays through Sundays, running to March 14, 2027. Presidents' Day Monday is added.
- Feb. 13–14, 2027. Silverton Skijoring.
- March 17 to April 11, 2027. Unguided days at Silverton Mountain.
Count it out and there are 60 days between the last Silverton train and Silverton Mountain's first guided day. After the Nov. 1 last Silverton run and before the Nov. 20 winter service window opens, the railroad runs no scheduled trains on the line. The first big winter event on Silverton's own calendar, Skijoring, is still more than three months away. Hardrockers Holidays already ran in August. We found no confirmed dates for November or December holiday events. If a tree lighting or holiday market gets announced, it will probably show up on the Silverton Area Chamber of Commerce calendar or in the Silverton Standard first.
Silverton Mountain posted its schedule last April, so confirm the details as opening gets closer.
The Eight Addresses
The Silverton Area Chamber of Commerce keeps a directory category called "Open Year around." It currently lists eight businesses. Sorted by street address, they look like this:
| Business | Address | What the Chamber says |
|---|---|---|
| Hunt Brothers Pizza | 315 Greene St. | Listed as year-round |
| Silverton Grocery Store | 717 Greene St. | Small, locally owned grocery and deli, open year-round |
| Dera Deli & Bar | 1124 Greene St. | Listed as year-round |
| Alpine Tavern | 1151 Greene St. | The town's only year-round sports bar |
| Lacey Rose Saloon | 1219 Greene St. | Listed as year-round |
| Osteria Italian Ristorante & Wildcrafter Spa | 1261 Blair St. | Listed as year-round |
| Coffee Bear | 1309 Greene St. | Open daily, seven days a week, year-round |
| Kendall Mountain Cafe | 1421 Greene St. | Listed as year-round |
Seven of the eight are on Greene Street. Osteria, on Blair, is the only one off it. Four of them sit between 1124 and 1309 Greene, within a few blocks of each other. Silverton Grocery at 717 and Hunt Brothers at 315 cover the south end of town. So most of the winter map is a short walk, but the grocery and the pizza are farther down the street.
The Chamber's full dining directory has more names: Goodies To Go Coffee House & Creamery, Handlebars Food and Saloon, High Noon Hambergers, Natalia's 1912, Rendezvous Circa 1880, Rocky Mountain Funnel Cake Factory, and T's Smokehouse & Grill. Those listings don't say whether each place stays open in winter. We couldn't find any 2026 closing or reopening dates for them, so the directory doesn't tell you either way. The same goes for The WhistleStop Gas Station. The Chamber lists it at 315 Greene St. as a gas station and convenience store, and it also appears in the Chamber's grocery listings, but neither page gives winter hours.
The year-round list also carries no "last updated" date. Hours can change after Nov. 1, and it's worth calling ahead on a weeknight in January.
October Still Has the Crowds
The quiet season doesn't start yet. Chamber executive director DeAnne Gallegos told the Durango Herald on Sept. 25 that summer had been weak. She pointed to higher gas prices, rising living costs, and smoke from the Gold Mountain Fire near Ouray. September has been much busier.
"The train has been experiencing close to their July numbers, and so it has been an amazing fall," she said.
Gallegos expects visits to stay strong through October before the town quiets down for winter. The Herald also reported aspens peaking around Molas Pass and Silverton in late September, with the usual peak running into early October.
Several October events on the Chamber calendar are aimed as much at locals as at visitors:
- Alpine Tavern live music on Oct. 1, 10, 11, 16, and 24, generally 7 to 9 p.m.
- The Four Corners Snow and Avalanche Workshop in Silverton on Oct. 10.
- Recurring community programs on the Silverton Creative District calendar, including yoga, pickleball, basketball, school weight-room hours, and library programs.
Alpine Tavern is both the busiest music venue on the October calendar and the one year-round sports bar in the Chamber directory. For much of the next few months, it's one of the only places that is sure to be open.
The Windows That Stay Lit
Every year, some storefronts go dark in the off-season. The Silverton Main Street Program has a plan for them. Art Through the Seasons, now in its fourth year, invites businesses that close for winter to decorate their storefronts during the slow months. The San Juan Development Association runs the Main Street Program. It describes the project as putting local art in empty storefront windows during seasonal or permanent closures.
This year's notice in the Silverton Standard also invites businesses that stay open. If a shop is open for Skijoring or busy winter weekends, it can put temporary art in its windows for the season. The Standard's photo for the story shows the installation on the American Legion building at 11th and Greene, which stays up year-round.
The program changes what a winter walk down Greene Street looks like. The eight year-round businesses are still the places to eat, drink, and shop. The art keeps the blocks between them from looking empty until things pick up again in February, when Skijoring weekend brings crowds back to town.
Kendall Waits on the Snow
Silverton Mountain has published dates. Kendall Mountain Ski Area hasn't. Kendall is the town's ski hill, and it runs on natural snow only, so its operating dates depend on each season's conditions. Its website still reads "Closed for the 2025/26 Season. Ski you next year!" That notice describes the end of last season. It doesn't mean Kendall never ran.
Last winter's opening came late. The Silverton Standard reported that Kendall's chairlift first ran on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, after a snowstorm the week before. The chair was full of local kids, adults, and visitors. Steve Mead, then the Town's Parks and Recreation director, told the paper the Kendall crew had stayed optimistic all winter.
Kendall has no 2026/27 dates yet. Its ticket page still shows last season's pass prices, and we found no announced pass-sale date or opening schedule. The Town's 2026 budget, prepared in December 2025, shows what the town has been putting into the hill:
- A $20,000 project to insulate the floor at Kendall
- Replacing a groomer, listed as one of the Town's 2026 infrastructure priorities
- $40,000 in projected lift-ticket revenue, with lift operators paid through the Parks and Recreation operating budget
The department that runs Kendall is also being reorganized. According to a digest of the Sept. 14 meeting, trustees told staff to move Facilities, Parks & Recreation under Public Works and to eliminate the separate department director position. Staff will bring back final salary ranges during budget talks. The digest was generated from the meeting video, so check the recording for exact wording. The upcoming budget talks are where more of Kendall's plans for this season are likely to come up.
Until then, the fixed dates are Nov. 1 for the last train, Dec. 31 for Silverton Mountain, and Feb. 13 for Skijoring. Kendall's first day depends on the snow, and last winter the chair didn't run until Feb. 20.
The eight year-round addresses and the art in the dark windows show how Silverton's commercial blocks get through the off-season. Owners and investors in small mountain downtowns deal with the same questions: which buildings can support a year-round tenant, which ones earn most of their income in summer, and how a Main Street program fills the gap in between. Colleen Aller and Team Aller work on commercial leasing and sales across the Western Slope. If you own or are considering a storefront on Greene or Blair, we're glad to talk through how its seasons might work. Contact us.
