#4 - Colorado
San Juan Skyway
The San Juan Skyway is a 236-mile ride that may well be the most scenic loop in America. You'll find it 90 miles from Grand Junction or 250 from Pueblo. The route incorporates five passes, countless ghost towns and a smattering of some of the finest former mining towns in the West, as well as the historic Million Dollar Highway, the most famous portion of which travels from Ouray to Silverton (U.S. Highway 550) over Coal Bank Summit and the Molas Divide. You can also treat yourself to stops in the famous adventure destinations of Telluride and Mesa Verde National Park, where you can explore those ancient cliff dwellings you've seen in pictures since you were a kid in school.
Traveling south from Ridgway to Ouray, Colorado, on U.S. Highway 550 is just one nice way to begin this scenic tour. The locals call this stretch of road Little Switzerland for its amazing granite towers and dramatic waterfalls. Ouray proves a nice breakfast stop with its historic main street proffering more than a dozen restaurants. One of the big draws here is the huge Hot Springs Pool, which is open year-round. I've been told it's a nice place to warm your bum in the winter since part of the outdoor pool is kept at about 104 degrees. In summer months people stick to the more moderately heated 120-by-150-foot section.
The road climbs sharply out of Ouray, beginning the section of the Skyway known universally as the Million Dollar Highway, and though theories abound, no one seems sure how it got its name. The road, which crosses Red Mountain Pass at 11,018 feet, seems miraculous, even in this day of heavy earthmoving equipment. It's difficult to believe it was the project of a single man, Otto Mears, who originally cut the 22-mile roadbed in 1883. But Mears was an entrepreneur (albeit a handy one), and he saw the need for a passage between the area's thriving mining camps. Once the road was open he set up a tollgate at Bear Falls and charged a hefty $3.75 per vehicle and 75 cents per horse.
This segment remains an intensely rich experience. It's completely paved yet feels delightfully treacherous. The weak of heart should, at the least, avoid looking down. There is no doubt the Million Dollar Highway is the jewel of the San Juan crown, so take your time. There are many, many pullouts that allow you to enjoy the breathtaking views and explore the old ghost towns and mining facilities. At the end of this heart-wrenching stretch you'll reach Silverton, which I found to be the most inviting frontier town in the area. It's smaller than Ouray and less commercialized, yet it's cupped in a valley nearly as beautiful as the cradle of Telluride. From this stop, the remainder of U.S. Highway 550 into Durango is a mix of Alpine meadows and barren passes until it finally floats down into the Animas River Valley and Durango. Here you can take a ride on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a nostalgic locomotive experience enjoyed by more than 200,000 tourists each summer. But then again, if you're like me and shy away from the common scene, you'll motor right through sprawling Durango and take your taste of tourist treats at Mesa Verde National Park instead, about 40 miles west on Highway 160.
After pondering the cliff dwellings, you're headed for Telluride on Highway 145. For quite a while the scenery has that western-slope foothill feel. But soon enough you rise back into Rocky Mountain grandeur with the approach of Lizard Head Pass at 10,222 feet. Telluride is just on the other side. You need to make the quick detour east to get into the old section, a well-preserved mining town you can't easily see as the heart of the mega resort it's become. Often compared to Aspen and Vail, Telluride retains more charm than either and has managed to separate its historic district from the glam. Interestingly, this area--with its impossibly high real-estate values--was pretty much a ghost town from 1930 until '71, when the Telluride Ski Area opened.
The last leg of this loop, from Telluride back to Ridgway on Highway 145, is a nice cool-down. Of course, it really doesn't matter where you start or finish. What you'll really want to do is keep going around and around.
Don't Miss:
Tostada appetizer at the Adobe Inn in Ridgway (970/626-5939), Silverton and Million Dollar Highway.
Season:
Not impossible to ride midwinter, but nice and cool in the summer.
Road Notes:
Sharp, blind corners on the east side combined with commercial trucks making up time.
More Info:
If you have time, order San Juan Skyway by Scott Warren and The Million Dollar Highway by Marvin Gregory. Both can be found used on www.amazon.com for next to nothing.