San Juan Mountains

The San Juan Skyway has been checked off the list. It’s been on my bucketlist for a while. I’ve done sections of the drive at separate times… but I’ve never driven the entire 233-mile loop in one weekend. It was spectacular. And we even caught the tail-end of the gorgeous fall foliage. We started in Telluride and headed south towards Cortez, CO… where a stop at the Mesa Verde National Park is another “bucketlist checker off-er”. Ancient Cliff-dwellings dating back to 550-1300 AD built by the Ancestral Puebloan people, sometimes called the Anasazi. It’s an amazing sight…

Onward to Durango, CO. Durango is a great town. Known for its Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway, Micro Breweries, and its mountain biking mecca status. Great place to spend the night to split the trip up and take in all the sights. Eat at a tasty brewery, bike along their River Trail, or go fishing/rafting down the Animas River. We fished the Animas right outside of town… and it was a blast. Lots of Rainbow Trout to be caught!

The next day, we continued along the Skyway towards Coal Bank Pass, Molas Pass, and ended up in the tiny town of Silverton, CO. Silverton is straight out of an old western movie - one main thoroughfare with saloons, shops, great food and a brewery. Not much going on… but a really cool mining town turned into one of the best “ski resorts” in the nation. Silverton converts into an expert, backcountry ski resort in the winter with hike-to terrain, 1 lift, guided and unguided trips, and even an old UPS-like truck to drive you back so you can do it all over again. 5 runs at Silverton Mountain is a GOOD day.

Next, we drove along Red Mountain Pass and the “Million Dollar Highway” connecting Silverton to Ouray, Colorado. This road has to be one of the most ridiculous roads I’ve ever been on. Ridiculous in a good way – amazing views, gorgeous fall foliage, cliffs, valleys, tunnels, mining structures and lots more. I’d never seen anything like it… I actually don’t even know how it was built. It’s exhilarating and one of the prettiest sights in Southwest Colorado but it’s definitely a “white-knuckle” kind of drive.

Next up… I’ve been to Ouray many times. Known for its Hot Springs (clothing optional), jeeping, and the infamous Imogene Pass Run… it’s a cute/quaint little town which claims to be “Switzerland of America”. It’s surrounded on all three sides with mountains… giving it the box canyon feel like Telluride. Great town and nice neighbors! We left Ouray and head back towards Telluride through Ridgway and Placerville. It was great to be home. Telluride is the prettiest… but we’re a little biased!! The San Juan Skyway is something you’ve got to check off your list when you visit the region again. Absolutely amazing!