Is there a road that we can drive into Telluride from the Silverton/Ouray general area in June off of US 550.
If you don’t have a short wheelbase 4-wheel drive I wouldn’t attempt it.
Five Roads from Ouray to Telluride
:thumbsup
Thanks! I was hoping we could do it with 2 wheel drive SUV but might try to rent 4 wheel jeep.
You can probably do Last Dollar Divide without 4wd. Not going to be as majestic as some of the others, but will get you off the beaten path and have some great scenery.
Wasn’t up there last year, so can’t say for certain how conditions are, but you can likely do Ophir pass from Silverton in a non 4x4 that has high clearance.
Thanks for the info.
Our game plan is to drive (2 wheel drive SUV) into Telluride from Ouray over Imogene Pass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9AeH0KBk7Q
Then on Monday after fest drive to Silverton over Ophir Pass.
Cool videos. You might check trail conditions first, decent snow this year, and the video seems like its probably later in the summer than June. Probably going to be much more snow than whats in these videos.
PROBABLY???
HA!
You can count on it!!!
If there is a big snow year, like this year, is the road still open in June? Do people ever hike up to the pass or is everyone in a car? I’m inclining to hike or bike up to the pass this year.
The snowpack is (thankfully) > 150% of average … so generally speaking, the opening of most passes to vehicular traffic will be pushed back a bit. A lot depends upon weather between now and then, but if trend of cold non-sunny days continues … there’ll still likely be a lot of snow!
This is not to say one couldn’t hike/bike
So lots of water this summer? It was so dry last year…
Definitely re: rivers & reservoirs, but it’s anyone’s guess re: rain. Then again, there has been a noticeable shift re: moisture and colder temps, so maybe macro trend continues into the summer. Bluegrass is kinda “due” for a deluge.
Hush! We pray for Bluegrass sunshine! I leave winter to visit the sun in the canyon, nooooo rain.
Here is a video during TB in June 2015 of Ophir Pass (0:40). Looks like the road was open.
Do you also avoid stepping on cracks on the sidewalk in Australia? :flower
This is from 1989, and I think its at the beginning of Ophir , but it might be Engineer, or Cinnamon Pass they all have the same signs. Anyway this was late July and very little snow left at the summits. Engineer and Ophir seemed like the most difficult in my memory, but its been a few years, and I was only a 16 year old kid. Check out the chromoly rigid frame bikes we rode. People would stop in their 4x4’s and tell us how crazy we were. On Engineer and Ophir we saw multiple vehicles turn around and not summit because it got to hairy for them. If you are coming in on 550, there’s a sweet little side road that parallels 550 for a dozen or so miles and follows the rim of Lime Creek Canyon, very exciting dirt road drive that wont require 4x4, and won’t have snow. Not sure if there’s markers, but its between Purgatory and Silverton on the righthand side of road heading towards Silverton, highly recommend.
Thanks for the info. Will check it our later.
Here’s a funny video taken on Lime Creek Road. Obviously its these folks first time doing anything like this, but I did it in the mid 90’s in a 86 Ford Aerostar minivan, and again in a Honda accord, so 4x4 not required, though it be nice for the clearance. If you stick to the road that runs the rim of the canyon it takes about an hour to loop back to 550.