Colorado Scenery - San Juan Loop

This trip was awesome! It is designated as a Scenic & Historic Byway, USFS Scenic Byway and an All-American Road. Estimated driving time is 1 to 2 days, the length is 233 miles. This paved road has year round maintence. The best time to travel is June through October, the busiest time is July and August. The mountain passes are sometimes closed for brief periods of time, sometimes as long as two days because of heavy snow storms and/or slides in the winter.

This area abounds with four wheel drive trails, hiking, backpacking, bicycling, hunting, photography, kayaking, dirt biking, motorcycle touring, fishing, etc. There are plenty of gift shops to visit in the towns you pass through, and many, many attractions such as the history, ecology and geology along the way.

We started our trip at Ridgway, on Highway 62 to Placerville. There we took Highway 145 to the southeast until Cortez. There you take US 160 to Durango and then to US Highway 550 back to Ridgway.

Below are a few of the photos we took along the way - there will be 4 pages of this trip.

A view looking towards Ouray from a gas station in Ridgway, Co. Ridgway served as the movie's "True Grit" fictional "Fort Smith" This area was also used as a film location for the movie "How the West was Won".

Dallas Divide, the mountains you are looking at include Mt. Sneffles which is over 14,000 feet in elevation.

This photo was taken last year looking towards Black Bear Pass from Telluride, if you look real close near the center you can see the switchbacks going back and forth up the face of the mountain. This pass is known nation wide as being quite a challenge for 4 X 4 enthusists. Telluride is known for being an international ski resort. Some of the history includes the first bank robbery by Butch Cassidy. There is a yearly bluegrass & country music festival and hang gliding competitions. There many, many jeep trails leading in and out of Telluride.

This photo was taken a few miles out of Telluride, these mountains are 13-14,000 feet high.

Yule Marble Quarry Area - Garden of the Gods - Monarch and Independence Pass - Telluride Page One - Telluride Page Two - Yankee Boy Basin Page One - Yankee Boy Basin Page Two - Yankee Boy Basin Page Three - Crystal - San Juan Loop - San Juan Loop Page Two - San Juan Loop Page Three - San Juan Loop Page Four - Owl Creek Pass - Slate Road - Rocky Mountain National Park - Rocky Mountain National Park Page Two - Miscellaneous Scenery

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