Entry No. 30 — the Durango file — filed under: outdoor
Dennis Weaver Memorial Park
Best known as Chester on Gunsmoke and the wisecracking New Mexico deputy in McCloud, Dennis Weaver left Hollywood behind in 1990 and moved to Ridgway, where he built "Sunridge" — a nearly 10,000-square-foot Earthship of 3,000 earth-packed tires and 15,000 aluminum cans designed by architect Michael Reynolds, requiring no heating ducts or air conditioning. He founded the Institute of Ecolonomics and spent his final years championing sustainable building and organic farming. The 60-acre park donated to Ridgway after his 2006 death sits on the cottonwood-lined bank of the Uncompahgre River. Its centerpiece is a 2,000-pound metal eagle — wings fully spread — rising from a ring of stones arranged as a medicine wheel, the surrounding ground thick with visitor-stacked cairns left as quiet offerings.
The story
Dennis Weaver played Chester on Gunsmoke and a quipping New Mexico deputy in McCloud, but in 1990 he pulled a sharp turn away from Hollywood to settle in Ridgway. Working with Earthship architect Michael Reynolds, Weaver built 'Sunridge'—a nearly 10,000-square-foot home constructed from 3,000 earth-packed tires and 15,000 aluminum cans that needed zero heating ducts or air conditioning. Weaver then launched the Institute of Ecolonomics from the property, pushing sustainable engineering and organic farming long before green building hit mainstream real estate.
When Weaver died in 2006, 60 acres along the cottonwood-lined Uncompahgre River were turned into a public preserve. Rather than a standard civic plaque, the centerpiece is a 2,000-pound metal eagle caught mid-flight, rising out of a stone medicine wheel on the riverbank. Visitors quietly treat the site like a shrine, surrounding the eagle's talons with dozens of stacked stone cairns left behind as offerings.
What it's like
Turn west off US-550 onto Riversage Drive, cross the river bridge, and park in the lot. The trail to the eagle and medicine wheel is a short, flat stroll along the riverbank with the San Juan Mountains framed behind the iron bird. Trailside plaques display Weaver's own poetry as you walk. One warning: there are no restrooms on site, so hit a facility in downtown Ridgway before turning off the highway. If you visit during the April and May snowmelt, expect thick riverbank mud.
The move: Pack a picnic and walk the river trail to the medicine wheel. Sit with the eagle at your back and the San Juan peaks ahead, stack a cairn together, and read aloud one of the Weaver poems displayed on-site — it's low-key and genuinely moving.
📍 Before you go Admission is free and the park is open year-round, though the Uncompahgre River path can be muddy after snowmelt (typically April–May). No restrooms are listed on-site, so use facilities in downtown Ridgway (0.3 miles south) before arriving. The eagle and medicine wheel are a short flat walk from the parking area — suitable for any fitness level. Ridgway is about 75 miles north of Durango via US-550 through Ouray; allow 90 minutes each way.
- 📍 Ridgway
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Riversage Dr, Ridgway, CO 81432 — approximately 1.5 miles north of downtown Ridgway off US-550; turn west at Riversage Drive, cross the bridge, and park in the lot.
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Orvis Hot Springs — Combine your riverbank walk with a soak in natural, outdoor mineral pools just two miles down the road.
- Ouray Perimeter Trail (Tunnel, Troll & Four Waterfalls) — Drive ten miles south to trade a flat riverside stroll for cliff-hanging paths and hand-blasted mining tunnels.
- Ouray Alchemist Museum — Pair Weaver's tire-and-can sustainable architecture with a massive collection of 19th-century pharmacy lore under a copper dome in Ouray.
Good to know
How much does admission cost?
The park is completely free and open year-round.
Are there public restrooms at the park?
No. Plan to use public facilities in downtown Ridgway (less than a mile south) before heading to the trailhead.
How long is the walk to the eagle sculpture?
It is a short, flat walk from the parking area that requires no special hiking gear and suits any fitness level.
How far is the park from Durango?
It sits about 75 miles north of Durango along US-550, passing through Ouray, which takes about 90 minutes by car.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: uncovercolorado.com · Roadside America · motherearthnews.com · destinationwest.org · traillink.com
last checked: 2026-06-11