Many people have heard of Telluride, Colorado. It’s a ski town similar to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and visited by a similar crowd. It’s beautiful but expensive. Fewer people have heard of Ouray, Colorado, a small town just over the mountains from Telluride but, in my opinion, a much more interesting and even more beautiful place.
It may be important to note that Ouray is probably my favorite place in the world so far. There is nowhere else I feel quite as ‘at home’ as I do in the San Juan mountains. I mentioned Ouray in my blog about my favorite places to travel, and despite hating that question, it really is one of my favorite places to be.
Both Ouray and Telluride are in the San Juan Mountain range in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The San Juans were originally settled in small mining towns, looking for iron, copper, silver, gold, and other precious metals. Some mines are still active in the area, but most have been shut down and access blocked off. Looking at the spectacular range of colors on the mountain tops, you can clearly see how inundated the rock is with iron and copper.
Ouray is known largely for its 4-wheel drive trails and as the gateway to the Million Dollar Highway. It also features some of the most spectacular scenery I’ve ever seen and some of the most unique, colorful mountains anywhere in the Rocky Mountains. Hiking, biking, and ATVing are all common activities in the area, and natural hot springs add a perfect way to relax at the end of the day.
The Alpine Loop is the best-known 4-wheel drive trail in the Ouray area. This series of roads connect Lake City, Silverton, and Ouray via a network of incredible mountain passes and scenic vistas. High clearance is necessary in most areas, but all three towns offer Jeep or ATV rentals to help you get up into the alpine tundra surrounding them. The ghost town of Animas Forks sits in one of the valleys above the tree line and is a great place to check out an old Colorado mining town.
I’ve driven and camped along some of these roads and found some of the most amazing views you could imagine of Colorado’s San Juan mountains. To this day, the best campsite I’ve ever had was at the edge of a precipice next to the abandoned Brooklyn Mine, overlooking the peaks across the valley and the Uncompahgre River below. Minerals in the rock turn the rivers and lakes the most amazing colors of blue and turquoise to stand out against the red, green, and grey rock surrounding them.
The Million Dollar Highway is the highlight of the area. This stretch of road between Ouray and Durango winds through the San Juan Mountains with narrow lanes and shear rock cliffs. Sitting in the passenger seat, you can look over the edge of the road to see the river a few hundred feet below. Fortunately, this road is paved and is actually a pretty easy drive. I’ve towed a camping trailer up it and it is regularly used by RVs and other larger vehicles. I’ve even ridden a stretch of this road sitting backward on a motorcycle. It’s certainly nothing to be taken lightly, but with caution, it’s an incredible experience to add to your list and provides amazing scenic views without ever getting off the pavement.
There are plenty of hikes along the Alpine Loop and many more that are accessible without 4-wheel drive. Handies Peak is one of the slightly easier-to-climb 14ers (14,000+ foot mountain) in Colorado. Box Canyon Falls Park is a great stop any time of year and is especially amazing in late fall, winter, and early spring when the water freezes to the rocks, forming incredible ice formations. Several other waterfalls surround Ouray, such as waterfalls off the peaks and draining into the Uncompahgre River, which flows through the town. Many glacial lakes are accessible by trail in the area as well, although many of these hikes are strenuous, and some require high-clearance vehicles just to get to the trailheads.
Hot springs are a relatively common occurrence in the Rocky Mountains, but Ouray has several hot springs in town that are easily accessible to visitors. The main public hot springs, Ouray Hot Springs Pool and Fitness Center have multiple large pools for soaking and playing. Many of the hotels in the area also feature hot springs pools and are great places to stay if you’re looking for the hot springs experience.
Ouray is one of those places where you have to be willing to get dirty. I’ll never get sick of the scenery in this little corner of the world, and it’s somewhere I’ll always make an effort to go back to. If you have the opportunity to visit, make sure you get off the beaten path and see the backcountry. You won’t regret it.
