Google Earth satellite image of route

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Rating: 6/10

This infamous road travels from Red Mountain Pass to the east from Highway 550, to Telluride to the west. It's primarily notorious for a few of its one-way switchbacks as it drops into Telluride. It also provides a steeper rocky stairstep section that requires your attention along with a wonderful shelf road. Black Bear is one of the great roads of Colorado and affords some of the best views in the San Juans. It is somewhere in my top five in this region. Imogene Pass virtually identical scenery as well for those less inclined to drive Black Bear.

The east side of the road from Highway 550 to the summit is real straight forward and is pretty much a well maintained gravel road to the summit that opens up to great views back in that direction of all the peaks. One mile in is the cutoff road you can take to the incredibly beautiful, and one of my favorites, Porphyry Basin (Click for large gallery of un-edited snapshots. This will have to do until I get an official home for some of them.), which is also accessible from Highway 550. The view from the 12,840-foot Black Bear summit is outstanding, as it is throughout the trail. The start down to the west side is uneventful as you go under Trico Peak, which is immediately to the east, then affording views of the beautiful turquoise colored Ingram Lake. Views of Telluride get closer as you anticipate your first substantial encounter with the rock stairsteps, which start where the road runs right alongside and above Ingram Creek. The tougher section of this stretch is about 100 feet long or so, and is over before you know it. After the steps, you cross Ingram Creek and begin the main shelf section which is basically standard issue for the San Juans.

Next, is the infamous signature first switchback, which is the toughest of the bunch as there isn't much room for turning around. The key here is to take it wider than what your inclination would be as the inner portion is rocky, and if taken too short to the inside, could cause you to lift a tire. This is not a spot to be playing around on the rocks, so take it wide. It looks extremely narrow and intimidating when approaching it, but once you're actually on the apex, it really isn't bad at all, and there is plenty of room for midsize vehicles to back up. Even in my 4Runner, it is an easy 2-point turn. Many full size vehicles have traveled this road including Suburbans, H1s, and full size pickups, some having to back down to the next switchback as 500-point turns aren't the best solution. Personally, I would pass on taking a full size vehicle up here. The next two switchbacks are still tight, but a little easier to negotiate.

It's an absolutely awesome drive that requires your attention, and the views are incredible. I think I would rate it slightly higher in the scenery department than Imogene. It takes about an hour and a half to traverse from Red Mountain Pass and into Telluride.

For reference, this road had opened up on July 2nd in 2003, which was an average snowfall year. 2004 was another average snowfall year and opened around July 7th. For 2005, it opened around July 20 as the snowpack was 150% that of normal.

The pictures in the following gallery are collected from a few different trips, but they are all in sequential order from east to west.