A paved seven-mile trail follows the Animas River through the heart of Durango, from north of Animas City to south of the Highway 160 bridge. It's flat, scenic, and used as much by commuting locals on bikes as by visitors.
The river is busy with tubers in summer and gold-medal trout water at the right times. Several access points along the trail have benches, parks and put-ins for kayaks and tubes. Best in the morning when the air is cool and the cottonwoods along the bank are full of birds.