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I will re-format and rewrite this page at some point. This page was put up at the time of the site launch (1/03) and I realize it is in desperate need of some work! I'm not sure why I still have it up in its current state. Click here for my landscapes in this region, which will be far more enjoyable.
(Click to enlarge
true-color satellite image)
The San Juan Mountains are by far my
favorite area in the state for just the mountainous region that it is
and the beauty that blankets it. This area encompasses more than 10,000
square miles of mountains, an area roughly equal in size to the state
of Massachusetts. It is said to be the largest mountain system in America.
It is a juxtaposition of many distinct ranges, no less than ten which
are named, and the additional ones are more blurred in their definition
and less distinct. There are fourteen 14ers here and 70 others over 13,000'.
Truly a great place to be if you love the mountains as much as I do, and
is why I call this area my home away from home. One of my favorite quotes
has to be this one:
“If you should, in your imagination, put together in one small group, perhaps 12 miles square, all the heights and depths, the rugged precipices and polished faces of rock, and all the sharp pinnacles and deeply indented crests, and 20 times the inaccessible summits that both of us have ever seen, you would not have a picture equal to this.”
--William Henry Holmes of the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey when describing the San Juan Mountains in 1876
This region, like much
of the state, is very rich in mining history and there were thousands
of camps here during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Current ghost towns
like Animas Forks and Middleton were bustling with people at the turn
of the century. It would not be uncommon for these towns to have a few
hundred to a few thousand residents, a couple newspapers, a general store
and saloons galore. If it weren't for the extremely heavy mining activity
in the past, Rocky Mountain National Park may very well have been located
here instead of its current location.
Many of the mountains here have a lot of red in them which gives them added character and beauty, and the three Red Mountains (so named, oddly enough) along Highway 550 off of Red Mountain Pass being more red than all the rest. They are astoundingly beautiful when viewing them from the highway, from Hurricane Pass, or actually driving on Red Mountain No. 1 via the Corkscrew Gulch Road.
One individual who shouldn't go unnoticed when mentioning
this region is Otto Mears, who is known as the Pathfinder of the San Juans.
Mears, a Russian immigrant, constructed a series of toll roads between
1867 and 1886, about 450 miles altogether throughout this region. He also
is credited with building railroads here as well. The most famous of his
roads is the Million Dollar Highway, which took three years to build.
This section, which goes between Ouray and Silverton, is part of the San
Juan Skyway, a 236-mile loop. This loop has been designated as an All
American Road, only one of six in the country. Yeah, it's a pretty nice
drive!
Another nice drive is the Silver Thread Scenic Byway which goes from the town of South Fork to the south, and Lake City to the north. If starting from the south, you are treated to many wonderful views of the famous Rio Grande River which gets pretty wide at times, by Colorado standards anyway. It is really breathtaking in the late afternoon when the sun provides backlight on the waters.
Further
to the north and seven miles south of Creede is a turnoff to get to the
Wheeler Geologic Area, which is a great unknown to most Coloradans.
This is Colorado's miniature version of Bryce Canyon in Utah. To get to
this City of Gnomes, it is 22 miles back in which makes it extremely
remote. It is truly one of the great features that make Colorado so diverse.
It was actually named a National Monument in 1908 by Theodore Roosevelt,
but by 1950 this status was removed due to lack of visitors to the area
because of its extreme isolation. A great quote that summarizes this unique
place:
“A truly remarkable site . . . before us, enhanced by the rays of the setting sun, lay the vista of what seemed to us an enchanted city. Spires and domes, castles and cathedrals, mosques and temples, with their fluted columns and wonderfully carved friezes, were arrayed in a confusing panorama of form and color.”
--Frank Spencer, an explorer who in 1907, was responsible for pushing for the National Monument status of the Wheeler Geologic Area
The Towns
Telluride
Some of the towns in this region include Telluride, Ridgway,
Ouray, Silverton, Durango, Lake City and Creede. Of this fine and impressive
list, and all the other cities throughout the state, I believe Telluride
to be the most scenic, which makes it my personal favorite. The town was
established in 1878 and was originally named Columbia, but because there
was also a Columbia, California, the Postmaster General would not permit
a post office here for potential and probable confusion. For two years
until 1880, the town went without mail. The name had to change and Telluride
was one suggestion given. Telluride is an ore associated with the element
of tellurium. Oddly enough, telluride was no where to be found in this
area, but the name was settled on nonetheless. The town was not named
for the expression of to Hell you ride, which you will come across
more often than not when viewing different sources covering the history
of this town. Rather, that was a derived phrase after the current name
was settled on. After the mining boom ended here, the town laid stagnant
until 1968, when ground was purchased for the ski area by two Aspen locals.
And by the early 70s, the ski industry here began to gain momentum and
revitalized the town into what it is today. The current population is
1,500, but still a far cry from the 5,000 that lived here in its mining
heyday.
The San Miguel County Courthouse signature landmark was built in 1887, shortly after the original building burned down. The original bricks were salvaged off the first building to use on the present structure. While the building has undergone a series of modifications, no restoration work has ever been done to it.
The Gondola,
which goes to the top of Coonskin Mountain, then on to Mountain Village,
is the first of its kind anywhere. This $16 million public transportation
system opened in the fall of 1995 and was built to improve air quality
in this box canyon by reducing vehicular traffic in the town below by
providing a link to the upscale (a vast understatement) community of Mountain
Village to the west. I'm telling you, this is the best ride in America.
And, it's free! If you're lucky enough to be the only one in one of the
26 eight-passenger cabins, the ride is quite soothing, especially on a
fall day when the breeze rustles the leaves of the aspens below. You have
to have the windows open to hear them, though! From the station in Telluride
to the top of the mountain is 1,800' and takes a little over 6 minutes.
The second leg to the Mountain Village station is an additional 4.5 minutes,
and 2 more to the Station Village parking area. It is 2.5 miles long in
all.
Some facts:
• The world's first alternating current (AC) power plant was built
here
• Telluride was the first town in the world to have electric street
lamps
• The Tomboy Mine was one of the world's greatest gold producers.
By 1904, more than $360 million of gold had been extracted from area mines.
• Butch Cassidy (Robert LeRoy Parker), who was the town butcher
in nearby Ophir, began his notorious career of bank robbing here and in
1889 along with The Sundance Kid (Harry Longabaugh), walked away from
San Miguel National Bank with $24,580 of miners' money.
Ridgway
Ridgway is the northern gate into the San Juans and is a fine town in and of itself. It lies in a great spot as a hub to serve your ventures into the San Juans as it is located on the northeast elbow of the San Juan Skyway. Go to the west to Telluride, to the south to Ouray and Silverton or to the northeast to the Owl Creek Pass/Silver Jack Reservoir areas. Just to the north is the beautiful Ridgway State Park at the Ridgway Reservoir. John Wayne's True Grit was filmed here and in the surrounding area and How The West Was Won had some footage in the area as well. Montrose lies 30 miles north.
My
favorite spot in the state is just out of Ridgway about five miles to
the west. Turn left on County Road 7 which is a well maintained dirt road
and leads to one of the most beautiful basins in the state along the The
East Fork of Dallas Creek. The great view of the basin and the majestic
Mt. Sneffels is reached at about the 7-mile marker and the Blue Lakes
trailhead and campground are a mile further at the end of the road. I
have a number of pictures in the gallery taken from this area. It is absolutely
stunning. There are a number of great camping spots near the trailhead.
No water, but there is an outhouse nearby!
Known as The
Switzerland of America, Ouray lies 10 miles south of Ridgway and at
the eastern terminus of the Sneffels Range. It is located near a vast
network of 4WD roads that cover the region. Just out of Ouray is the start
to the Imogene Pass road that goes to Telluride. A spur off of it goes
up to Yankee Boy Basin, a wildflower mecca for only a couple weeks in
the summer. Ouray is just another great mountain town in the state where
you can visit the shops along main street or soak in the hot springs on
the north end of town.
Silverton
Unlike
the other towns in this region claiming to be in the heart of the San
Juans, but actually sitting more along the perimeter, this one actually
lives up to this label. It is truly dead center of it all. It is the only
town in the state that you have to go over a mountain pass to get in and
to get out. Winters can be tough here, or so I hear! That's the main reason
there's only 500 year-round residents. It's more laid back than Telluride
or Ouray being that it is a little less touristy.
The
original boom in this area came when the railroad was built here from
Durango in 1882 which severely cut rates on shipping ore by mule. It is
now known as the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad which caters
to many tourists to the area in the summer (open year round) and highly
recommended if you love mountain railways. I have only been on it once
myself and I was seven at the time but remember it like yesterday. Although
I loved trains when I was young, this is a trip the whole family will
love and enjoy. Truly an awesome experience. Hmm. I better start making
my plans while I'm thinking about this again! The main route into the
Silverton area prior to 1882 was via Stony Pass which can be driven from
the ghost town of Howardsville, which lies a couple miles east of Silverton,
up through Cunningham Gulch. A description of this route can be found
in my Stony Pass trail report.
SilvertonColorado.com