Ouray and the Area....help plan my trip

NFRs2000NYC

NFRs2000NYC

Caught the Bug
Hey guys, it's been over a month since my trip from NJ to Moab, and seeing Eddie's pics of all the traveling got me itching for another trip....so, myself and the wife are looking to pack it up and go to the Ouray area for a week. Now I have all the trail books and such, but just wanted to ask those of you that have been in the area to advise me on some of the "must see" spots, monuments, parks, towns, restaurants, etc. My wife knows that I want to hit trails, but she agreed to go if the entire trip isn't centered around it, so any destinations (trails with something amazing at the end, etc) that will satisfy her little travel bug would be a great help. Also, keep in mind that I am alone (Jeep wise) so no crazy trails. The wife damn near had a heart attack when I buried my axles in the snow up in Canada, so I can only imagine her reaction if I snap something 13000 feet in the air. :D The plan is to hit some of the Keep It Tight spots (Ouray, Telluride, Leadville, Silverton) but other than that I don't know anything in that region. Would you also advise we try and hit Rocky Mountain National Park and maybe the Dunes National Park? I don't think we can make it to the Mesa in the time we have, but I'll leave that to you guys to advise. Thanks for any and all help!
 
Just got back after being there all last week. Yankee Boy is an easy trail with awesome scenery. The wild flowers are great this year. If you venture a trip to Telluride from Ouray, take Ophir Pass. It is all great stuff to be honest. A trip to Animas Forks is nearly a must.
 
Look into the Central City, Keystone, Breckenridge areas as well, all beautiful country.
 
BigJeschke said:
Just got back after being there all last week. Yankee Boy is an easy trail with awesome scenery. The wild flowers are great this year. If you venture a trip to Telluride from Ouray, take Ophir Pass. It is all great stuff to be honest. A trip to Animas Forks is nearly a must.
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I thought Imogene is the staple route for Ouray to Telluride?? Also, is there an easy trail to animas forks?
 
NFRs2000NYC said:
I thought Imogene is the staple route for Ouray to Telluride?? Also, is there an easy trail to animas forks?
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Imogene is the staple route to Telluride but has some steep drop offs with soft edges. I was a little mistaken on Ophir, we ran it 2 years ago. You take red mountain pass most of the way to silverton then take Ophir pass to Ophir, then it's highway to telluride- Very scenic and an easy route. You might try Engineer to Animas, some narrow spots with drop-offs so be careful passing. There are other ways, try going to http://www.traildamage.com and looking for routes in the San Juans associated with the alpine loop.
 
There are also several good trails just west of the springs and Denver, and if you drive through the springs, you need to drive pikes peak.
 
We like to stay at the koa in Ouray. As far as trails go Imogene, Black bear and poughkeepsie are my favorites. I wasn't to impressed with Ophir but Yankee boy is very nice and pretty much a dirt road. You really can't go wrong with any of the trails in the area, you can do most of them in a stock jeep. There are old mines, cabins and waterfalls to check out along the way, also if you don't mind making a long day out of it you can take black bear over to telluride, have lunch and take Imogene back. This is one of our favorite places I'm sure you will enjoy your trip!!!

As far as non jeeping there is box canyon falls. My kids used to love feeding the chipmunks there but they don't let you do that anymore.

There is also a mine tour that is nice. They take you about a quarter mile into the mine and give you some history on the area.

Food is all good but there is nothing so great we make it a point to have.

My wife loves the shopping there are lots of nice little shops.

Also Ouray hot springs.

I enjoyed mesa verde between cortez and Durango and it can be done in half a day.
Also between Durango and silverton is purgatory ski resort. They have an alpine slide as well as mountain bike rentals that can make for some fun if your up for that. Silverton is nice and they have a cool little museum but I couldn't fill a day there. I have never spent much time in telluride but I'm sure there are tons of things there.
 
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CRAZYCASEY said:
We like to stay at the koa in Ouray. As far as trails go Imogene, Black bear and poughkeepsie are my favorites. I wasn't to impressed with Ophir but Yankee boy is very nice and pretty much a dirt road. You really can't go wrong with any of the trails in the area, you can do most of them in a stock jeep. There are old mines, cabins and waterfalls to check out along the way, also if you don't mind making a long day out of it you can take black bear over to telluride, have lunch and take Imogene back. This is one of our favorite places I'm sure you will enjoy your trip!!!
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Was definitely going to try and do the Imogene loop, but Im not sure I want to run black bear with the wife. I trust myself, but it's one of those things that's stuck in the back of my mind saying what if....maybe I'll have her walk the trail behind me just to be safe....
 
NFRs2000NYC said:
Was definitely going to try and do the Imogene loop, but Im not sure I want to run black bear with the wife. I trust myself, but it's one of those things that's stuck in the back of my mind saying what if....maybe I'll have her walk the trail behind me just to be safe....
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I added a few things to my first post. The switch backs on black bear can be a little scary but the waterfall at the end is worth it IMO. My wife does not like black bear so I understand. I'm sure if you took Imogene over you could fill your afternoon in telluride and take the highway back.
 
Awesome, great info! Watched a few more Black Bear vids and I don't think it's for the wife. Tons of other trails in the area, and I really don't want to scare her off the jeeping thing, so my plan to pretend like I got lost and accidentally ended up on black bear which is one way only isn't going to happen. :D
 
We went last summer from Houston to Durango. We did the train from Durango to Needleton, backpacked for a couple days. Then we stayed in Silverton and went all over north of there: Animas Forks (awesome ghost town, my favorite place on the trip), Eureka, Engineer Pass. It was a blast. We are planning another trip for next summer. Planning to go to Telluride, Ouray, etc. I didn't go too far and not on too rough stuff because we were solo and had no recovery gear so I didn't wanna get stuck and need help. Next trip will be with another Jeep. Animas Forks and Silverton are must sees, including the train. :rock:
 
Get ahold of Jason Brown (JB) at RIGS adventure company and tell him Eric sent ya. He does whitewater guides and is a local so he knows of the secret spots too. Have an awesome trip!!!
 
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