Ouray…adventure abounds in this tiny town

Off-road driving, hiking, mountain biking, ice climbing, rappelling down waterfalls…you can do it all in this tiny mountain town! Sitting 7,800 ft high in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, Ouray is known as “Switzerland of America.” It’s separated from the surrounding mountain towns of Silverton, Ridgway, Lake City and Telluride by giant mountain passes.

Established in the late 1870’s during the gold and silver rush, rugged mining roads now make great off-road trails. Around 1,000 residents call Ouray home, where deer freely wander among homes and historic Victorian buildings lining the five blocks of main street.

But this charming compact town blossoms to thousands each summer as tourists and transplanted Texans make their way along the scenic highway to carve out their own adventure.

Just getting here is a thrill. Some days more than others…thanks to Mother Nature. At times either highway— the scenic San Juan Skyway north to Ridgway or the Million Dollar Highway south to Silverton—are closed due to mudslides, rock slides or avalanches. During our visit, lanes were closed down to one way traffic, making the drive along this twisty curvy highway— too narrow for guardrails— a bit exciting, especially in the rain. Highway 550 has switchbacks with tight hairpin turns and ascents up mountain passes with steep grades climbing to 11,000 ft at Molas Pass and Red Mountain Pass. (Sorry no pics, I was driving!)

On our road trip through southwestern Colorado, my daughter and I drove from Ridgway to Ourway to Silverton to Durango to Mesa Verde, staying in each place along the way. We both loved staying in the three tiny mountain towns so much that when we got to Durango, normal traffic and busy activity in this small town seemed chaotic and foreign to us.

Here were the highlights for us during our short 2 night stay in Ouray:

JEEP TOURS

They call this region the Jeep Capitol for good reason! The mountains are alive with ATV’s buzzing up, down, and around spectacular stunning passes. Our favorite was Imogene Pass (see previous post). If you aren’t driving or renting your own off-road vehicle, Jeep tours are the best way to see the surrounding scenery.

We took 2 jeep tours (after all, it IS the jeep capitol!). Our tour with Switzerland of America went to the popular Yankee Boy Basin. This scenic 3 hour journey was a good introduction to the area’s mining history. Our knowledgeable guide shared some history and stories about the miners, their wages and tragedies during a stop overlooking Camp Bird Mine. We had time to walk around where a few pieces of discarded mining equipment were rusting in the grass.

Our 4×4 traveled along narrow gravel roads that are less bumpy than all other tour routes, making it a good choice for those with any physical concerns. Overall the Yankee Boy Basin is rated 2 of 5 on the four-wheeling difficulty scale. But it still has a few thrills, like steep drop offs, narrow roads and overhanging rocks.

Before long , we came to our destination—Yankee Boy Basin—a pretty forested valley surrounded by 13,000 – 14,000 ft peaks in the San Juan Mountains. We were free to wander around the waterfalls and wildflowers which make this a very popular place to visit. Most tour companies run this route daily from late May to early October. But the best time for flowers was now, in July.

A trio of women in our group dashed over to the flowers and disappeared in the blooms. There were purple Columbines and Larkspur, Cow Parsnip and Paintbrush.  Closer view of the twin waterfall at Yankee Boy Basin. After the guide called us back to the jeep, we went back the way we came. Here’s another view of the road with the rocky overhang! Wheee…

Hey, adrenalin junkies…if this route seems a little tame for you, consider Black Bear Pass! Just google youtube videos. If that doesn’t scare your socks off, know that Switzerland of America offers a full day tour that does a grand loop from Ouray down Black Bear Pass to Telluride and up and over Imogene Pass back to Ouray. Now that sounds like a wicked day!

HIKING

The 6 mile Perimeter Trail around Ouray loops through many of the landmark sights that people want to see, including Box Canyon Falls, Cascade Falls & Baby Bathtubs on Portage Creek. Note that the trail is rocky, steep and precarious in a few places and rated moderate-strenuous. But the nice thing is that you don’t have the do the entire loop all at once. You can drive close to different trail heads and hike short segments to fit around other activities or squeeze in around summer rains. Stop in at the Visitor Center by the Hot Springs to get maps and chat with helpful friendly staff. Personable Heidi even sat down with us, listened to our interests and suggested things to do and places to eat. Taking out a map, she circled the best spots along the Perimeter Trail and suggested places we could visit en route to Silverton. (Sadly never found Ironton ghost town when we drove out of town.)

BOX CANYON FALLS

Near Ouray’s Ice Park on the Uncompahgre River Gorge is Box Canyon Falls at the west end of 3rd Avenue. You can access this diversion from the Perimeter Trail. Or drive here. There’s a $5 admission fee at the park’s visitor center. Nice to know, cuz who carries cash when hiking?  There are two trails that lead to different views of this waterfall which gushes out of a narrow canyon. Falls trail is an easy, short and level path that leads to a red metal walkway braced along the canyon wall. From here you can overlook the falls from above…

Or continue down the stairs all the way to the water… 

The other trail, High Bridge, is a rocky climb up 200 ft to access a metal grated bridge that spans over the top of the canyon.

You can’t really see the falls from here (at least we didn’t in the fading light) but you can see an overview of the town. If you cross the bridge, however, and enter the tunnel that disappears into the rock, you are now on the Perimeter Trail. Bring a flashlight so you don’t trip over an old water pipe. We turned around here so can’t speak about that section other than it looked steep with steel cables to help pull hikers up.

BABY BATHTUBS & HIGH POINT TRAIL

We drove to Portland Creek and parked by the gorge where we saw a group canyoning. This sport of rappelling, scrambling over rocks, and splashing through waterfalls is really taking off in Ouray. Canyoning Colorado offers guided trips for beginners to advanced. It looked like a blast, and something I wish we would’ve done.

We watched them from the bridge until they disappeared out of view, then headed south up the opposite creek bed. It was relatively dry due to the drought. This section of the Perimeter Trail is perfect for families with small kids. Little pools fill in the shallow rocks, thus the name Baby Bathtubs.

We hiked through a forest of spruce, and birch, and traipsed through a flat open meadow called “Potato patch.”

And eventually came out to the High Point of the trail where we were standing at 8,500 ft.

We chose to return back the way we came, but the trail continues down the hillside a half mile to Highway 550. Our round trip hike from Portland Creek was about 1.5 miles.

CASCADE FALLS

Short on time, we decided to drive instead of hike from Portland Creek to Cascade Falls. Located at the end of 8th Avenue, access is easy. Just a short stroll required to get to these tall skinny falls.

BACHELOR SYRACUSE MINE TOUR

You can’t drive through Colorado without seeing a decrepit boarding house, a processing plant, mine shafts or discarded bits of rusty metal glinting in the sun. This is where mining was done.

In Ouray alone, there were over 30 mines operating at the same time. Back then, when the gold and silver dried up, miners simply dropped everything and left to pursue the next big find. What did they leave behind? Intriguing, I know… but leave those holes alone! Entering abandoned mine shafts is extremely dangerous. Written brochures at tourism offices try to keep people away with facts about the toxic hazards and tragic stories of how each year, despite the warnings, people get injured or worse.

So how great is it that you can enter a real mine in both Ouray and Silverton, and it’s safe! Not only do you get a glimpse into the actual space and see how mining equipment operated, but you also hear stories about what life was like for the young miners who worked here. And you can even pan for your own gold afterwards.

We took the last tour of the day at the Bachelor Syracuse Mine located just a couple miles north of Ouray off of Highway 550.

Our guide led us through the mine on foot about 1500 feet deep into Gold Hill. Kids loved wearing the hard hats and shining the flashlights along the rails as we made our way inside the mine to a little room. Our guide demonstrated how miners used a jack leg drill among other equipment. There was an extended family celebrating a child’s 7th birthday, and the boy was ecstatic to be included in the hands-on demonstrations in the candle light.

Everyone gasped when the guide blew out the candles. We listened to stories about how the miners had to count their steps in the pitch black darkness to get around. It was very important to count correctly with all the hazardous holes and know when and where to climb up or down the maze of tunnels to find your way safely out.

This mine was developed in 1884 and produced gold and silver for 100 years. Miners lived short lives for the hope of wealth. It was cool to see inside the mine. And hearing the stories about both the investors and the miners made history come alive.

HOT SPRINGS   

What better way to end a long day of hiking than a good soak? The Ouray Hot Springs are open year round. Natural thermal springs supply the heat, sulfur-odor free. Five different pools of varying temperatures go from feeling cool (great on hot summer days) to warm (88 F) to hot (105 F). There’s something for everyone–soaking pools, a lap pool, a shallow swimming pool with slides for kids, and an impressive activity pool with an inflatable obstacle course and climbing wall. A shop renting water floats, fitness center, massage parlor and a BBQ grill are also on site.

An $18 pass ($12 kids) is good all day so you can go back again at night and relax before bed.

We soaked and floated around the warm pools until closing at 10pm. The mood was tranquil and inviting and looked romantic at night with mountains in the backdrop. Couples and local individuals niched out their own private space within the curving lines of the 3 warming pools while a few families swam further away in the cool pool. Feeling tensions melt away was the perfect end to a great stay in Ouray.

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