Ouray/Silverton in Late August 2014

[Full_Throttle]

Hi guys,

I will be spending a week in the Ouray/Silverton Colorado area from August 24th -28th or so. I am leaving Southern Illinois on the 23rd, staying the night in Colorado Springs, then continuing on to Ouray on the 24th. In the past I have spent all of my time Backpacking near Vestal Peak/Wham ridge area (Elk Park area near the Durango/Silverton RR) but this time My wife and I are up for some off road trails and some trout fishing. I am considering spending a day or two hiking in the Highland Mary Lakes area to do some fishing, but nothing is in stone.

Can anyone give me some good locations to wheel that can lead to good fishing spots? I know I want to do some of the "Alpine loop", and I have gone over Imogene pass back in 2011, and that was fun. Just looking for some cool adventure spots fish and wheel.

While I believe my 4 runner is up for most any trail, I also realize that I am driving 1200 miles one way, so.... na! Full Throttle!:car:

 

[USKTog]

Hi guys,

I will be spending a week in the Ouray/Silverton Colorado area from August 24th -28th or so. I am leaving Southern Illinois on the 23rd, staying the night in Colorado Springs, then continuing on to Ouray on the 24th. In the past I have spent all of my time Backpacking near Vestal Peak/Wham ridge area (Elk Park area near the Durango/Silverton RR) but this time My wife and I are up for some off road trails and some trout fishing. I am considering spending a day or two hiking in the Highland Mary Lakes area to do some fishing, but nothing is in stone.

Can anyone give me some good locations to wheel that can lead to good fishing spots? I know I want to do some of the "Alpine loop", and I have gone over Imogene pass back in 2011, and that was fun. Just looking for some cool adventure spots fish and wheel.

While I believe my 4 runner is up for most any trail, I also realize that I am driving 1200 miles one way, so.... na! Full Throttle!:car:

A buddy of mine has a blog that will keep you reading of options for days...

Adventr.CO is his most recent trip. There is a list of trip on the right-hand side.

Yankee Boy Basin

Imogene Pass

Alpine Loop

Ophir Pass

Ice Lakes Basin

Cinnamon Pass

Black Bear Pass

blah blah blah

 

[Full_Throttle]

Great!! Thanks

 

[USKTog]

Great!! Thanks

If you have specific trails that are of interest, let me know, I'll see what info I can provide. I've not done "a lot" of 4WD stuff lately, due to vehicle currently driving, but I grew up in CO and have been over pretty much every pass there is (including some that are no longer passable, except on horse or 2 wheels).

 

[dcaero]

A buddy of mine has a blog that will keep you reading of options for days...

Adventr.CO is his most recent trip. There is a list of trip on the right-hand side.

Yankee Boy Basin

Imogene Pass

Alpine Loop

Ophir Pass

Ice Lakes Basin

Cinnamon Pass

Black Bear Pass

blah blah blah

That blog is a gold mine! We just bought a 4Runner and started adventuring around Colorado, plus I just started a blog to document it all. That guy is basically my hero. Good stuff, thanks for sharing.

 

[USKTog]

That blog is a gold mine! We just bought a 4Runner and started adventuring around Colorado, plus I just started a blog to document it all. That guy is basically my hero. Good stuff, thanks for sharing.

Glad Randy's blog is of good use for ya. I'm sure that I'll probably add more posts to my blog once I get a 4R TEP and am out even deeper in the backcountry (where I can hike 5 - 6 mi round trip instead of 8-10) for pix!

So much to shoot, so little time. LOL

 

[Red Dog Leader]

From the pics I've seen and the satellite google maps view, a hike of interest is to Columbine Lake between Silverton & Telluride just S of Black Bear Rd. It almost glows.

Not sure if there is any public fishing, but my wife and I ran Road 38 south of Trout Lake/S of Telluride past Dunton Hot Springs....I know there are some private waters in there, but an easy, beautiful drive. We started at the south end and ran back to the North.

Columbine Lake on the bottom...

Closer...

 

[Snarf]

i would stop by Telluride Outside on Colorado Ave. in Telluride, they can hook you up with all the fishing knowledge you will need. there are many very cool high alpine lakes to drive and then hike up to in the area. one of the easiest areas is Alta Lakes, if you are camping this would be an amazing spot to use as your home base. enjoy, it should be nice this time of year as long as you stay dry.

 

[HOJeepster]

Fishing may not be prime in that area due to all the mining etc.

However, hike up to Ice Lakes...picture book heaven.

 

[Full_Throttle]

i would stop by Telluride Outside on Colorado Ave. in Telluride, they can hook you up with all the fishing knowledge you will need. there are many very cool high alpine lakes to drive and then hike up to in the area. one of the easiest areas is Alta Lakes, if you are camping this would be an amazing spot to use as your home base. enjoy, it should be nice this time of year as long as you stay dry.

I bought the guide to Colorado Backroads and 4-wheel-drive trails and have been reading through it and came upon this very same idea. Glad to see it is a great option!! I believe this is going to be so much fun that I am going to explode from excitement :bounce:

 

[Full_Throttle]

Fishing may not be prime in that area due to all the mining etc.

However, hike up to Ice Lakes...picture book heaven.

In 2011 a friend and I spent two days hiking to get to Balsam lake. This lake is at 11,800 feet or so elevation. We came in from the Animas river side and hiked up ten-mile creek to Balsam lake(6 miles up AFTER fording the animas river). That was a ball-breaker of a hike!! No trail, steep, steep, fallen trees. The sole purpose was to fish the lake. The lake had no fish.:brick:

I don't want to repeat that