Western Slope
Dolores County
13 Porch Notes tied to Dolores County — the local details that change from one part of Colorado to the next.
Money and taxes (1)
Home and property (1)
Water and land (2)
Water and land
In Dolores County, dryland and irrigated ground are not the same buy
Much of the farmland around Dove Creek is dryland, raised on rain and snow alone, while irrigated ground depends on a separate water supply that may or may not come with the parcel.
Read note ->Water and land
Rafting the lower Dolores River depends on a short, flow-driven season
The whitewater run on the lower Dolores River below McPhee Dam only comes alive when enough water is released, so the boating season can be brief and unpredictable from year to year.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire (2)
Outdoors and wildfire
Forest, state wildlife areas, and a pass: knowing whose land you're on near Dolores County
The high country of eastern Dolores County is national forest, with some lakes and reservoirs that are state wildlife areas needing a simple access pass or license.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
The Dolores River Canyon is public land with its own rules
Below McPhee Dam the Dolores River cuts a deep canyon on BLM-managed public land that includes a wilderness study area, and how you can use it is set by the agency, not by general access.
Read note ->Cars and driving (2)
Cars and driving
Over the top: Lizard Head Pass, a San Juan Skyway high point
Highway 145 climbs north from Rico over scenic Lizard Head Pass toward Telluride, a celebrated drive most of the year that simply asks for traction and patience in winter.
Read note ->Cars and driving
The San Juan Skyway's Dolores County leg: Highway 145 over Lizard Head Pass
Highway 145 north from Rico carries a stretch of the 236-mile San Juan Skyway over Lizard Head Pass, where the road opens to the Wilson group of fourteeners.
Read note ->Local rules (1)
History and culture (4)
History and culture
Dove Creek: the county seat that calls itself the Pinto Bean Capital
Dove Creek is the seat of Dolores County and grew up around dryland bean and grain farming, which is why it bills itself as the Pinto Bean Capital of the World.
Read note ->History and culture
How the Dolores Project pumps river water up to the Dove Creek farms
The Dolores Project stores Dolores River water in McPhee Reservoir and pumps it many miles to the Dove Creek area, which is why some land that was once dryland now has irrigation and the town has a municipal supply.
Read note ->History and culture
Rico and the railroad: why a mountain town sits in Dolores County
Rico grew from a silver strike and a narrow-gauge railroad that ran over Lizard Head Pass, which is why a former mining town anchors the county's mountainous east end.
Read note ->History and culture
Rico Today: A Mining Town That Never Went to Ghost
Rico's refurbished 1880s main street still holds galleries, B&Bs, and a few restaurants, with the upper Dolores River and old mining roads right out the door.
Read note ->