Couple of questions about southwest Colorado

[iBison]

I live here in Dgo and have some info for you. There's a lot to do in your truck. The trees are just starting to change in some areas. Now that school is back in there isn't any traffic except some hunters and hold overs. Considering where your base camp is plan to take an entire day going Silverton>Ophir pass>telluride>Imogene>Ouray>Silverton>KOA. You can do it no problem but it'll be a long day especially if there is weather. Imogene is much longer than Ophir. I'd air down to 20psi at least and u can air up at the gas station in Silverton. The möbius coffee in Silverton is excellent. There are a lot of greats restaurants in here. If you like sushi, go to Rice Monkeys. It's tiny spot but gaurantee you'll be impressed. Zia taqueria,


30 mins is a bit misleading. You'd have to be disregarding everyone's safety to do that and driving way over the speed limit. I've been over it 25+times, 4x this year and even yesterday.
OP please don't try to do this in 30 mins or count on it as accurate. As for Black bear you could easily go up to get some views and turn around. I'd certainly do that I were you. You don't have to go all the way up either. I'd recommend you do several up and backs out of Silverton. There's even more roads that are as good as or better than the typical ones ppl post up. LMk if you need more info. Have fun...oh and if you like organic farm fresh wonderful food. About 2 miles down from the KOA is James ranch. I know you'll like it.

Great info. I was going to do an all day trip up to Telluride and over Imogne. After hearing about Last Dollar Road I thought about going over to 145, up to Last Dollar, over Imogene and back, but that may be to long for one day.

After we leave Durango we are going to hit Gunnison and maybe drive over to Crystal by the mill and head over independence pass and if I have time stop at Maroon Bells, love that place. My wife grew up in aurora years ago so part of the trip is to go through her old stomping grounds again.

Any other recommendations for restaurants? We will be cooking some and taking lunches on our road trips. I see the Ore House has gotten pretty expensive since last time we were there. We like local places and try to avoid chains at all cost when we travel. I like micro brews, patio seating, bbq, meat, etc. She likes about anything, Asian, shrimp, healthy, steak, etc.

I'm open to any other milder roads that aren't to far away. I'm big into photography so everywhere out there is awesome for me. If it was my son and I we'd take a tent and do the more challenging trails, but maybe next year. We've been to Mesa Verde so no need to go there.

Thanks for taking the time to help.

 

[iBison]

I don't think this guy is in a race and he probably is sight seeing. Ophir pass is not the best for that but compared to Texas or Oklahoma it's probably great. Black bear pass isn't even that great once you get to the top and head over. Most the pictures you see people post are from above town. The view is much better the other way looking into the San Juans.

Imogene, no doubt has bigger views than Ophir but look at where the trails ends up. The views are much grander up there. Easy to get those views in other places as well that are quite easy such as Corkscrew gulch and so on are much better views than Ophir.

There's a great museum in silverton and oh yea the guy that sells produce in Durango at the high school parking lot is a must stil too if you're cooking.

Corkscrew gulch looks like a lot of great views. Do you end on road 110 in Silverton? Which way do you take it and any estimate of time allowing for stops?

 

[Colemanfu]

First off hope ya have a fun safe trip. Colorado is a sportsmens paradise.

Lots of good wheeling around between Telluride, Ouray and Silverthorn. All an hour north of Durango. Hit the Google button on "Alpine Loop, Black Bear Pass, Imogene.......". At least 3 day of wheeling around there. Great camping in Telluride at the Town Park Camp - right down town! Ampitheater in Ouray is nice as well as Red Mtn RV park (an awesome base camp) has tent and cabins in Silverton.

Heres a quick phone vid I shot this summer during the Colorado Dirt Bike and Brew Tour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sBuCJtjcxw

And if ya want a real challenge go over Schofield from CB to Marble past the famous Crystal Mill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6DVCCed_tw



Let me know if ya have any specific questions!
C-manfu

 

[iBison]

First off hope ya have a fun safe trip. Colorado is a sportsmens paradise.

Lots of good wheeling around between Telluride, Ouray and Silverthorn. All an hour north of Durango. Hit the Google button on "Alpine Loop, Black Bear Pass, Imogene.......". At least 3 day of wheeling around there. Great camping in Telluride at the Town Park Camp - right down town! Ampitheater in Ouray is nice as well as Red Mtn RV park (an awesome base camp) has tent and cabins in Silverton.

Heres a quick phone vid I shot this summer during the Colorado Dirt Bike and Brew Tour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sBuCJtjcxw

And if ya want a real challenge go over Schofield from CB to Marble past the famous Crystal Mill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6DVCCed_tw

Let me know if ya have any specific questions!
C-manfu

Thanks for the tips. We are staying at the Durango KOA in a cabin. My wife isn't up to camping this trip. I'd do Schofield, but I will probably have to do that with my son, I'm not sure my wife would like that one. I may try to make it up to the mill depending on time and what the road is like.

 

[Jimmy_D]

bunch of sheep

Just as I expected. No substantive reply to substantiate the derogatory assertions.....just more smartass remarks. And what exactly is someone driving a Highlander doing on a 4-Runner forum anyway?

 

[TBuzz]

Just as I expected. No substantive reply to substantiate the derogatory assertions.....just more smartass remarks. And what exactly is someone driving a Highlander doing on a 4-Runner forum anyway?

Still stewing I see..

Why don't you start a new thread on all of the stuff you want to chat me up on. We can address it point by point. Otherwise I'm done derailing this thread. So many holes in your long winded statements. Funny thing is I like Texans and was even born there. But some of them act like they run this place.

Edit..a highlander is a specific year and model 4Runner. It's older and has no status symbol, so they aren't for everyone.

 

[HOJeepster]

I spent two weeks there. I'd recommend Owl Creek pass between Gunnison and Ridgeway. It will give you a lot of great scenery and the route is easy, like sedans can do it. If you want there are some great camp sites along the route also. The KOA outside of Ouray is the bomb if you're looking for a paid campground but Angel Creek is just outside of Ouray and is along the route to Imogene.
Imogene itself is beautiful but there are some rough sections. The last portion into Telluride has some big exposure so make sure you (and your passengers) are ok with some big exposure. I've got a '11 Trail with a 3 inch lift for reference.
After that I'd take Ophir Pass back over to the 550. It's pretty easy and it's a beautiful drive.
You've got a beautiful trip ahead of you, enjoy every mile!

Also, if you're camping and don't have it yet, take a look at downloading Allstays Camp and RV. Best nationwide database of campsites I've found.

We just did this on our way back up from Ouray. It is a beautiful drive, but there was not a lot of camping along the road until you hit the Silver Jack Res. All in all, a nice scenic drive.

In all reality, you can't go wrong down in the San Juans. Most of the trails are easy, you'll be fine. Just try a few out and enjoy the views. If short on time, head up to Silverton and drive up to Animas Forks. From there, you can head east/north/west and it's all a 10/10. I personally think Engineer Pass is a good bang for the buck and pretty straight forward. Or head to Ouray, and drive up to Yankee Boy Basin or Governers Basin. It's all super amazing and within 2 hours roundtrip. If you're wife doesn't want to camp, she'll sure like these views regardless. We call it "Narnia".

Forget all these over-analytic people on this thread. Just go out and explore!



Top of Engineer:

 

[smurray711]

I live in Ophir. Come have fun!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jimmy_D]

Still stewing I see

Not at all....just calling you out on your unsubstantiated sarcastic remarks; and I'm actually a Coloradan/Texan since I own a home in Crested Butte and spend half the year here. And if you bother to reread the thread I think you'll discover that I'm not the one that started this. You also seem to view the Summit negatively, in which case I'd advise you to look into how much the Summit organizers contribute financially to various good causes in Ouray each year; not to mention allowing various Toyota owners with little to no off-road experience a chance to see the San Juans with other like minded individuals that wouldn't otherwise do so on their own.

 

[iBison]

We just did this on our way back up from Ouray. It is a beautiful drive, but there was not a lot of camping along the road until you hit the Silver Jack Res. All in all, a nice scenic drive.

In all reality, you can't go wrong down in the San Juans. Most of the trails are easy, you'll be fine. Just try a few out and enjoy the views. If short on time, head up to Silverton and drive up to Animas Forks. From there, you can head east/north/west and it's all a 10/10. I personally think Engineer Pass is a good bang for the buck and pretty straight forward. Or head to Ouray, and drive up to Yankee Boy Basin or Governers Basin. It's all super amazing and within 2 hours roundtrip. If you're wife doesn't want to camp, she'll sure like these views regardless. We call it "Narnia".

Forget all these over-analytic people on this thread. Just go out and explore!

This looks awesome. I googled it and came up with this on dangerousroads.org, are they trying to scare people off?

"This track can get very muddy and slippery after rain making it challenging to get through. During and after a storm the road may be impassable, even with a four-wheel-drive vehicle. It’s a real challenging road and a true test of your vehicle and your stamina because the road abounds in twists and turns with wheels sometimes hanging above the precipice." This must be the Enquirer of off road sites.

Then on alltrails it says "An exciting trail that's great for new and experienced drivers alike."

 

[iBison]

I never posted a follow-up, so here is a brief summary.

We stopped in Denver so my wife could see the areas where she grew up and to visit with my aunt and cousin. We headed up 70 and stopped to drive through Vail. Some kind of car event going on, saw a Ford GT, Corvette track car and Ferraris, etc. Headed west towards Grand Junction. I saw a cool looking road going up the cliffs/mesa near Parachute so we stopped and drove up that a ways. Spent the night in Delta where a guy has a lot of old, old cars and trucks for sale. Lady at the hotel said the guy owns the taco place and he has acres of them.

From there we went through Black Canyon NP, very cool place. We were going to spend three nights in Durango, but we left after the first night and spent the others in Ouray, much more to our interest. We stayed at the Ouray Inn, it wasn't fancy, but it was very nice and I would highly recommend it. The couple that own it were friendly and the guy gave information on the passes, etc.

We took a trip down to Silverton and explored the town. Nice little old west town. The Handlebar restaurant was very good and had an old saloon feel to it. ATVs everywhere there with people riding in from the trails for lunch or to their hotel.

We took a day trip to Telluride by way of Ophir Pass. Pretty easy trail if heights and drop offs don't bother you. I scraped in a couple of places with my stock height 04, but only used 4WD for descents. The scenery was spectacular. We saw several jeeps and bikes on the way. Definitely don't attempt in a car. The photo below was from this trip. We stopped in Telluride for some shopping and lunch. Nice town, would like to visit again. I'd love to come out for the mountain film festival. I stopped to get gas on the way out. It was raining and there were two Mercedes 230Sls at the gas station, one roadster and one gullwing. Nothing like seeing a couple of older gentlemen in their million plus cars out driving them. From there we took the Last Dollar road north. It's a pretty mild road that may give cars a little trouble in some spots. Again, spectacular scenery. Saw several groups of people camping off the side of the road, but other than that about zero traffic. The road was quite a bit longer than I had thought. A long but super fun day.


When we left Ouray to head back to Denver I took 133 over to Carbondale, then to Aspen. Then we went over Independence pass to Leadville. We had dinner at Quincy's where the only menu choice was what size you want your filet and what you want to drink. Nice meal in an old historic building and very affordable. Spent the night in Frisco.

Next day we went down to Breckenridge and wandered around a bit and drove up to the top of Boreas Pass. We saw the most colorful Aspen of the entire trip on this road. Stopped off on the side on the beginning of a 4x4 trail and had lunch. This road is no problem for cars. Left here and headed down to Denver and home the next day.

Thanks for all of the help planning!

Long GoPro video of Ophir Pass.

Long video of Million Dollar Highway.

 

[jonesmw10]

Sounds like an awesome trip. I live 15 minutes from Parachute and haven't taken that trail yet. I definitely need to! Independence pass just closed, so good thing you went when you did!

 

[iBison]

Sounds like an awesome trip. I live 15 minutes from Parachute and haven't taken that trail yet. I definitely need to! Independence pass just closed, so good thing you went when you did!

It was late afternoon so we only went part way up. It looked interesting and I would have liked to see where it went. You can see the road zig zagging up the side. The initial part goes up to some gas company stuff or something. If you go up all the way I'd like to see pictures.