Ghost Train: hauntings on main avenue

All Ages (0-5 free)

this tour does not include the historic tunnel (see haunted tunnel tour)

Saddle up. the ghost train is boarding.

Ghost Train: Hauntings on Main Avenue is a Durango ghost tour through a town where hauntings seem to flow as naturally as the River of Lost Souls. With its railroad roots, violent frontier history, tragic deaths, and century-old buildings still standing where it all happened, Durango has all the makings of a paranormal storm. This tour leads you through the haunted heart of downtown, where the past doesn’t always stay buried.

We begin where it all started: the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot. Before we step into Durango’s haunted past, we set the stage with the rough-and-tumble history behind the stories to come. There, you’ll hear the story of Boxcar Kate, a young woman whose heartbreak may have followed her beyond the grave. Her spirit is said to still roam the train museum.

From there, we wander up Main Avenue to some of downtown’s most storied and haunted locations. Stops may vary, but often include the former Palace Hotel, where a one-armed proprietor may still be watching over his old saloon, the shuttered Strater Theater, where Henry Strater’s full-bodied apparition has reportedly been seen standing on the stage long after the final curtain fell, and the old Jackson Hardware building, where a blacksmith suffered a slow death after a devastating explosion, a tragedy some believe still echoes through the building today.

The tour pushes deeper into the 900 block, where one of Durango’s most dramatic Wild West shootouts erupted in 1906 between the sheriff and the town marshal. Only one walked away.

We wrap up at what many consider the most haunted building in Durango: El Rancho Tavern. Horsefly History & Ghost Tours is the only tour company with access to El Rancho Tavern, and for good reason. Our investigations and years of tours helped put this building on the paranormal map. The stories you’ll hear and the photo evidence you’ll see come directly from our team and the people who work there. No secondhand accounts. No borrowed material. Straight from the source.

This is not our Haunted Tunnel Tour and does not include entry into the historic tunnel. For that experience, book the Haunted Tunnel Tour. Ghost Train is an all-ages walking tour and typically does not enter buildings unless special circumstances allow.

All ages are welcome, but parents should be aware that the stories on this tour come from the harsher side of Wild West history. Topics may include gunfights, gambling, prostitution, suicide, and vigilante justice. We keep the language age-appropriate and speak in general terms, but these subjects are part of the true history behind the hauntings.

To bring the past to life, guests will view historic photos along the way. Each person also receives a glow necklace to keep, and EMF detectors are available to borrow at no extra cost.

This is not a jump-scare tour. It is a walk through the haunted side of Durango’s past, filled with true local history, real frontier characters, and the ghost stories that refuse to die.

All ages welcome. Approximately 1 hour. About 5 blocks of flat, easy walking.

Tour Details

Meeting Point: Bronze horse sculptures at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Train Depot, 479 Main

Tour Length: 60 minutes

Distance: 0.4 miles

What's Included

• One glow necklace for each guest to keep

• EMF detectors available to borrow free of charge during the tour

• Historic photos shown throughout the experience to bring the past to life

• Original local storytelling based on Horsefly History & Ghost Tours’ research, investigations, and firsthand accounts

• Recommended ghost hunting apps for your phone

Flashlights optional. Shivers mandatory.

FAQ