The Ouray Area - So Many Choices!

SH 550, SH 62 and US 550 are part of the San Juan Skyway.

Imogene Pass/Yankee Boy Basin

How to get there:

US 550/SR 361	N38.0177°	W107.6745°
CR 26/CR26A	N37.9753°	W107.7458°
CR 26/FR 853.1C	N37.9795°	W107.7595°
Imogene Pass	N37.9317°	W1077348°
SH 145/Oak St	N37.9380°	W107.8128°

Head south out of Ouray on US 550. At the first switchback, turn west on the Camp Bird Mine Road SR 361 (FR 853). At 4.4 miles continue past the turn to the Camp Bird Mine and follow CR 26 (FR 853.1B). At 5.8 miles you will reach the junction of CR 26A (FR 869), the road to Imogene Pass. To reach the Yankee Boy Basin, stay on CR26. Continue past the junction of the road (FR 853.1C) to Governor Basin at mile 6.6 to reach Yankee Boy basin.

To reach Imogene Pass, return to the junction with CR 26A (FR 869) and turn to the south. You will reach the ruins of the Upper Camp Bird Mine in 2.5 miles. From there head to the southeast to the top of Imogene Pass in another 1.8 miles. The road continues down the other side of the pass past the ruins of the Tomboy Mine site and into Telluride, a distance of about 6 miles.

 

Photo Ops - Camp Bird Mine Rd./Yankee Boy Basin:

Camp Bird Mine road is one of my favorite roads in Colorado. There are many opportunities to capture some dramatic shots. For something really unusual, visit in January or February and get some shots of the ice climbers.

Yankee Boy Basin is famous for it's variety and abundance of wildflowers. You should start seeing flowers shortly after the junction with the road leading to Governor Basin. About a half mile past this junction, there are several waterfalls to the left of the road, one of which is said to be the model for the waterfalls on the Coors beer can. These are best photographed in afternoon light.

At the end of the road is a trailhead for the Blue Lakes Pass trail. If you have the time and energy, this trail will take you to a spectacular overlook of the Blue Lakes and mountain range above them.

 

Photo ops - Imogene Pass Road

The area around the Upper Camp Bird Mine and before the shelf road approach to Imogene Pass is usually filled with wildflowers. The jagged peaks to the southeast offer a teriffic backdrop.

Near the top of the pass, take a short route up a hill off to the southeast for a magnificent overlook of the Red Mountains.

Heading down from the pass and past the Tomboy Mine ruins watch for a spot on the shelf road with some rock formations along the road to include in the foreground. The vista of the Bridal Veil Falls across the canyon to the southeast and the peaks above the falls is spectacular. Afternoon or evening light would be best.

I stayed in Telluride over a July 4th holiday and drove up the shelf road above the town and watched the fireworks. The backdrop is shown in the picture to the right. It was spectacular! Actually got up to leave twice thinking the show was over. Not! They were just reloading! I could hear the entire town go "ooh" and "aah" after particularly special explosions. An experience I'll never forget. So if you're in Telluride over the Fourth and want a unique photo opportunity, you have to try this. I guarantee it will be unforgettable.

 

 

Black Bear Pass

 

How to get there:

US 550/6th Ave, Ouray	N38.0227°	W107.6715°
US 550/CR 16	N37.8965°	W107.7135°
Black Bear Pass	N37.8995°	W107.7430°
SH 145/Oak St	N37.9380°	W107.8128°

Since this road turns to one way downhill a mile after the top of the pass, you must start from the junction of US 550 and CR 16 (FR 823). This road, while not extremely difficult, is not recommended for inexperienced 4 wheelers.

From US 550 & Sixth Ave. in Ouray drive south on US 550 12.4 miles to the junction, just a quarter mile past Red Mountain Pass, and turn west. At mile 2 you will be in Mineral Basin. At mile 2.7 you have reached Black Bear pass. From here it is about a mile to Ingram Falls. The road then drops about 1500' in the next mile and a half through a series of very steep and very sharp switchbacks. This section is one way and would be very difficult in anything other than a short wheelbase vehicle. It is about another 2.5 miles to the junction of Oak St and SH 145 in Telluride, the start of the Imogene Pass trail. These two trails can be done as a loop but it does make for a fairly long day.

Photo Ops:

At mile .8 there is a short spur road to the north that leads to the continental divide with some gorgeous views to the south that may be worth your time to explore. Between this junction and the pass you will see a couple of small waterfalls to the south of the road and you will enter Mineral Basin. In a cool, moist year Mineral Basin is filled with vast fields of wildflowers.

The summit of Black Bear pass offers some fantastic views to the west looking down at the town of Telluride with mountain ranges on either side.

About three miles from the top of the pass you reach an area of the road called "The Steps". This section is composed of shale with some loose shale on top, extremely steep, and has a series of small drops (the steps). As you approach Ingram Falls, there is a section where the view over your hood is open sky and the road appears to drop over the cliff. Exciting, to say the least! Try to capture this photo op, perhaps with a shot through your windshield. The road takes a very sharp right hand turn then a switchback to the left to come to the bottom of Ingram Falls.

Ingram Falls is picturesque and I would suggest you might try to get a shot of a vehicle on the road above the falls to give it a sense of scale. While I have not tried it, I belive if you could brave the frigid water, you could actually stand behind the falls. Do so at your own risk!

The swichback after the falls is the sharpest I have ever driven. It will probably take three three-point turns to make it around the bend in a small pickup. And I'm talking about pulling forward until rocks are dropping over the side from your left front wheel and backing up until you touch the cliff behind you and doing it again before you can make it around the curve. I cannot recommend this for a full size vehicle.

As you make your way down the series of switchbacks you will get some glimpses of Bridal Veil Falls, Colorado’s tallest free falling waterfall, and the restored power plant located at the top of the falls. At one swithback there is a short spur (closed to vehicles) leading to the power plant. Continuing downhill, you will reach a parking area at the bottom of the falls where you should certainly be able to get some impressive shots.

 

The Alpine Loop - Cinnamon Pass/Engineer Pass

How to get there - Engineer Pass:

US 550/6th Ave, Ouray	N38.0227°	W107.6715°
US 550/CR 18	N37.9887°	W107.6498°
CR 17/CR 2	N37.9577°	W107.5755°
CR 2/Engr. Pass Tr.	N37.9653°	W107.5715°
Engineer Pass	N37.9760°	W107.5838°
Rose Cabin	N37.9763°	W107.5383°
Capitol City	N38.0073°	W107.4663°
SH 149/First St, Lake City	N38.0262°	W107.3172°

From SH 550 and 6th Ave. in Ouray, drive south 3.7 miles to the junction with CR 18 and turn east. Drive 6.2 miles (CR 18 will change to CR 17 as you cross the county line) to the intersection with CR 2 and turn north. (Turning south on CR 2 will lead to Cinnamon Pass). From here it is 0.9 miles to the junction with the 4wd road to Engineer Pass. It is 1.5 miles to the summit. From the pass, staying on the Engineer Pass road/CR 2, you will reach Rose Cabin at mile 3.6, Capital City at mile 8.9 and SH 149 and First Street in Lake City at mile 17.7.

Photo Ops:

There are so many photo opportunities along this road that I cannot describe them all. You will see many ruins of mines and mills, fields of wildflowers, majestic vistas, fall colors, lakes, streams, and waterfalls. Of particular note are an overlook as you approach the pass and Whitmore Falls as you near Lake City.

How to get there - Cinnamon Pass:

US 550/6th Ave, Ouray	N38.0227°	W107.6715°
US 550/CR 18	N37.5333°	W107.6498°
CR 17/CR 2	N37.9577°	W107.5755°
CR 2/CR 5	N37.9297°	W107.5653°
Cinnamon Pass	N37.9340°	W107.5378°
CR 30/SH 149	N38.0003°	W107.2983°
SH 149/First St.	N38.0232°	W107.3172°

From SH 550 and 6th Ave. in Ouray, drive south 3.7 miles to the junction with CR 18 and turn east. Drive 6.2 miles (CR 18 will change to CR 17 as you cross the county line) to the intersection with CR 2 and turn south. (Turning north on CR 2 will lead to Engineer Pass). From here it is 2.1 miles to the junction with CR 5. Head east on CR 5 to the top of Cinnamon Pass in another 2.4 miles. From the pass follow the Alpine Loop Byway (CR 30) 21.8 miles to the intersection with SH 149 and take SH 149 north for 2.2 miles to the inersection with First Street in Lake City.

Photo Ops:

Again, as with the Engineer Pass road, there are so many photo opportunities along this road that I cannot describe them all. You will see many ruins of mines and mills, fields of wildflowers, majestic vistas, fall colors, lakes, streams, and waterfalls. Of particular note, when you reach the junction of CR 2 and CR 5, you may wish to continue on CR 2 for about a quarter mile and then backtrack on CR 9 for about a half mile to visit Animas Forks, a fairly well maintained mining ghost town. Continuing south on CR 2 would take you to the town of Silverton in about 12 miles.

Red Mountain Pass/US 550

Red Mountain Pass is located on US 550, part of the San Juan Skyway, 12 miles south of Ouray. There are many large stands of aspens along the road and some old mine ruins on the east side approaching the pass.

Five miles south of Silverton on US 550, the road to the east leads to Molas Lake. One mile further, the road to the west leads to Little Molas Lake. Both lakes are very scenic.

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