On last years Colorado Roadtrip, Ouray was just a quick one day recon stop while we were staying in Ridgway.  Driving through the town, it seemed like a pretty cool place.  Having read some fellow bloggers reports about Ouray, it peaked my interest to make it a destination on this years roadtrip.

The small town of Ouray is located on the northern section of the San Juan Mountains.  Not as high as Leadville or Silverton, it’s pretty high up at almost 7,800 ft.  It’s 71 miles from Durango and just 24 miles from Silverton.  Not quite in a box canyon, it’s set in a narrow valley with towering walls of mountains surrounding on three sides.  The Uncompahgre River gushes through the center of town.

It’s called The Switzerland of America.  The Gem of the Rockies.  Looking up at those snow capped mountains, I can almost hear Julie Andrews singing “Climb Every Mountain”.   But the tag line that sticks in my head the best is Lovely Ouray.  There’s scenic eye candy everywhere you look.

History

The Ute people called the area around Ouray home.  They hunted in the area and used the natural hot springs outside of Ouray.  The town got it’s start in the 1870’s from mining.  In 1871 and 1873, the Utes signed away the mineral rights and then got booted out of the San Juan’s.  The miners came in and took over.  By 1877, the population of a few hundred had grown to 1,000 people.  The population peaked in 1890 at 2,500.

Gold and silver were the key minerals.  At the height of the mining boom, Ouray had 30 mines, but the most productive ones were Camp Bird and Yankee Girl just north of the town.  Here’s some interesting trivia that shows how profitable the Camp Bird Mine was.

In 1896, Thomas Walsh discovered gold at Camp Bird.  Walsh was an Irish born carpenter, a seller of trade goods, and self-taught miner.  After running a hotel with his wife in Leadville, he came to Ouray looking for gold and found it in 1896.  In 2015 equivalent dollars, the Camp Bird Mine began producing $142,000 worth of ore per day.  In a short time, Walsh extracted the equivalent (in 2015 dollars) of $85 million worth of gold from Camp Bird.  He sold the mine in 1902 for $5.2 million (equivalent to $138 million in 2015 dollars).  He moved his family to Washington DC in 1898 and lived a lavish lifestyle.  In 1908, he bought the Hope Diamond as a wedding present for his only daughter, Evalyn.  From 1896 to 1990, the mine produce over $1.5 billion worth of gold.

Looking at the town today, many of the historic buildings from the 1880’s and 1890’s still line Main Street.   The Beaumont Hotel, the Wright Opera House, and Court House are great examples.  Much of the downtown area is designated a National Historic District.

Tourism is now the key driver of the economy.  Unlike Silverton, Ouray is a real town with over 1,000 residents.  It’s not just a past thru town but a place were people come to live, work, and play.

The Million Dollar Highway

One of the key attractions that most people get to experience on their way to Ouray is the Million Dollar Highway.  We came into Ouray from Silverton over Route 550, which is the Million Dollar Highway.  Last year, we avoided this road due to some anecdotal feedback about accidents and treacherous sections.  Some examples of the feedback we heard are the following:

• From two residents of Ouray when we asked about accidents – “Oh sure, there’s accidents all the time.  Honey, remember that time when Pete’s kid went flying off the road?”.
• From a retired trucker who drove it daily – “Every time I drove that section just outside of Ouray to Silverton, I had my seat belt off and the door cracked just in case I needed to bail”.
• From a fellow RVer I met in Gunnison – “Driving south on 550 is the worst.  You’re on the outside with no guard rail.  I drove it in my Class A towing a car.  After driving it, I had to take a shot of whiskey and lie down to calm my nerves.”.

I had heard that driving north was a little better because on the cliff hanging sections, you’re on the inside lane near the rock wall.  This year, I figured I’d man up and drive the road.  It was a spectacular drive, but once will be enough for this cowboy.

The only scary part for me was approaching Red Mountain Pass from the south.  Just before the pass, the road was under construction and down to only one lane that switched from the inside lane to the outside.  It looked like they were shoring up the outside lane and had all the asphalt ripped off.  When I had to switch to the outside lane, it was soft gravel with a sheer drop off on the passenger side.

When we hit the freshly laid gravel, I felt the whole RV settle and the back-end slide a little toward the drop off.  Yikes!  Not a good feeling to feel your RV slide in that direction. It’s a panic attack type feeling.  “Come on baby, keeping going straight.” I prayed as I feathered the accelerated to keep some forward momentum. My son in the passenger seat was saying a refrain of “Holy Shit!”, “Oh My God!” over and over.  Once we got thru the construction, we easily crested the pass and started our descent.  We stopped at a turn out near the Yankee Girl mine.  Cav need a couple of shots of Johnny Walker to get his nerves back in the normal range.

The sections coming into Ouray are really outstanding.  Luckily we had the inside lane for this part.  I’m glad we did this road, but we both agreed – once was enough.

Here’s a video of the this section of the Million Dollar Highway.

Jeep Touring

Much like in Silverton, one of the things left by all the mining is an extensive network of trails and jeep roads in the mountains. There are trails going into Yankee Boy Basin, Governor Basin, and several mountain passes in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness Area.

Jeep and off-roading is very popular in Ouray.  You can drive trails that will take you over to Telluride, up into ghost towns, and into the old mining camps.

I had wanted to rent a Jeep and go into Yankee Boy Basin.  But, based on my SIlverton experience, the nerve racking driving just wasn’t worth paying money for.  Perhaps next time I’ll take a tour.

Hiking

But, I did do a little hiking in Ouray and enjoyed getting to experience some of Ouray’s nature close up.  Hiking is popular in Ouray and there’s a good network of trails right around the town that are easily accessible.  There are long and short hikes.  With my colitis, I don’t tend to venture too far away from a restroom.  So nowadays, I’m a short hike type of guy.

With all the surrounding mountains, all the hikes in Ouray seem to go up.  Sometimes steeply up.  I did the Box Canon Falls hike to see the water falls through a slot canyon and then climbed up to the bridge overlook.  This hike takes about 30-45 mins and will get your pulse going.  The small iron bridge over the slot canyon and water falls has great views of the town.  Just don’t look down if you’re afraid of heights like I am.  I did a quick selfie on the bridge and then moved off quickly.

Ouray from Box Canon Falls

I also hiked up to lower Cascade Falls.  This is also a quick popular hike.  I thought I could ride my bike up to the trail head (like I did to Box Canon), but 8th Street proved too steep for this geezer.  I’ve biked up 6% grades before but this seemed like a 8%-10% grade wall.  I was huffing and puffing big time by the time I walked three blocks up 8th Street with my bike. Luckily, the trail to the falls was short and easy.

And I got to see love on display at the falls.  A couple was getting married at the base of the falls when I arrived.  A beautiful setting for a wedding.

The Ouray Perimeter Trail is a 6 mile hiking trail that circles town.  I did a couple of short sections of the trail just enough to get some pictures.  The short hikes just wetted my appetite for doing more someday.

Hot Springs

The Ouray Hot Springs was just a short walk from our campsite.  It has a municipal feel but its a popular place for residents and visitors.  We spent part of an afternoon soaking in the 95 degree pool.  It felt pretty good.  The 101 degree pool was ok but just for a few minutes.

After soaking, we attended the Mountain Air Music night in the park.  During the summer, there’s a free concert in the park every Thursday evening.   There’s food, beer, and wine served.  The whole town seemed to turnout for this fun event that runs from 6-9 pm.

I enjoyed our short three-day stay in Ouray.  It was just enough to get a good sample of the recreation opportunities.  We stopped at a few eateries to sample the fare.  I can see it as a place (much like Salida) worth coming back to.

Accomodations

We stayed at the 4J +1 +1 RV Park right along the Uncompahgre River in the center of town.  It’s a great location for walking into town and accessing the hiking trails.  It’s also a well maintained place with full hookups, laundry, and wifi.  We had no problem getting a spot in June for 3 days.  During July, sites are booked a year in advance.

After three days, I had a good feeling about the town.  It’s a nice small town, high up in the Rockies, with lots of recreation, lots of good eateries, and lovely scenery in all directions.  Lovely Ouray will be a candidate for an extended summer stay in a future year.

Our next stop was just 15 miles down the road to Ridgway State Park.