Montrose is a little mountain town with a population of about 20,000 people and a whole lot of old western charm. It’s a gateway to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, it’s a popular destination for outdoor activities and hunting.
It’s a great place to stop and visit even if you’re just passing through town. The downtown has shops and restaurants and they also have an antique row off HWY 550. Tracy’s Antiques is located at 66422 Solar Road and has a very unique and large collection. He’s been collecting for 25 years and has multiple buildings to shop as well as collectible vehicles for sale. Tracy’s doesn’t have a website or regular hours so unfortunately it might be hit or miss when you’re visiting.
I was lucky to visit with friends that relocated to Montrose from Denver. Great to see familiar faces. Sean had suggested Tracy’s Antiques, which is quirky and right up my alley! (So glad Tracy’s was open!) Looking forward to meeting up with them on another adventure!
Montrose has two historical museums. Montrose County Historical Museum and The Museum of the Mountain West.
The Montrose County Historical Museum is located downtown in the 1912 Denver and Rio Grande Rail Depot. In 1972 the building was donated to the City of Montrose be used as a museum. They are open seasonally from May – September.
The Star Drive-In has been open since 1950 and has had continuous ownership for 70 years.
I often walk, it saves money on Uber / taxi fares and it affords more opportunities to see the area. I passed the Cedar Cemetery on Miami Road, open since 1882. It was on my 4 mile walk from downtown Montrose to the Museum of the Mountain West.
The Museum of the Mountain West is a must see. It’s a privately owned collection by retired archeologist Richard Fike. A friend on Instagram told me to visit his parents museum and I told him I would, and I did! I was completely blown away, it’s an incredible museum. A collection of 500,000 19th century artifacts, historic buildings in an indoor and outdoor setting. I briefly met Mr Fike and he was very gracious and gave me some personal history of some of the items in his collection that had belonged to his ancestors.
I would love to return again because I didn’t allow myself enough time, it’s also one the best curated and historically accurate of its kind. They offer a 2 hour guided tour for $15, a self guided tour is $10. Virtual tours of the museum are offered at Museumofthemountainwest.org Virtual Tour
Montrose is approximately 5 hours from Denver, 3 hours from Aspen, 1 hour from Grand Junction and 40 mins from Ouray, which is another jewel of Colorado.
Cheers to another long day.
Long Days 