Better south-to-north or north-to-south?
I would say northbound. Good views of the Hermosa Cliffs north of Durango and good perspective of the shelf road in Uncompahgre Gorge.
I guess I agree about northbound, but it'a a great drive in both directions. If you're in a vehicle with four-wheel drive capability, then I also recommend this detour:
http://goo.gl/maps/JAXdi (http://goo.gl/maps/JAXdi)
Do not attempt it without four-wheel drive. But, if you have the vehicle for it, it is simply breathtaking. Ophir Pass is out-of-this-world scenery, and would be doable without four-wheel drive. But Tomboy Imogene Pass required low gear plus four-wheel drive back when I drove it in 2002 or so. A short spur to Alta Lakes yields some great views as well.
Without four-wheel drive, you could still do the detour as far as Telluride (decent gravel from US-550 to CO-145), but then you'd have to either double back or wrap around to Ridgway on CO-62.
(Oh, by "gravel", I mean "rocky". I wouldn't try it in a Honda Civic coupé, but our Dodge minivan wouldn't have any trouble.)
Here's someone else's picture of the Ophir Pass road:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fulltimerv.us%2Ftravel%2F2007%2520Sep%2520Colorado%2FOphir_Pass3112.jpg&hash=8a1927f9f5a6ddb0e0cde4a8f6c0b707419f1ae9)
However, this road is not for the faint of heart or anyone who doesn't have experience taking their vehicle on rocky roads. Here are two pictures to illustrate my point:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F_dPKKA5YXXsY%2FSmaFo7ZpMfI%2FAAAAAAAAYhI%2FptPDz_SnUPk%2Fs400%2Fdsc02181.jpg&hash=c6ab4e97011e794b172de106cf0ebb981a2479c6)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm5.staticflickr.com%2F4084%2F4993849943_59a3925606.jpg&hash=f19a54fea8c30c67192bdb2239b043b6ec89cb34)
I've always wondered what happens if you meet someone coming the other way on a road like this...
are there any pullouts at all?
There are few true pullouts. In Colorado, uphill traffic gets the right of way, and downhill traffic must reverse to a point where the road is wide enough to let the other car by. This usually means you end up riding the gravel right next to a sheer dropoff, or getting your mirror really close to the side of the mountain. Fun stuff!
Quote from: kphoger on August 13, 2012, 10:56:58 AM
There are few true pullouts. In Colorado, uphill traffic gets the right of way, and downhill traffic must reverse to a point where the road is wide enough to let the other car by. This usually means you end up riding the gravel right next to a sheer dropoff, or getting your mirror really close to the side of the mountain. Fun stuff!
awesome!
how many cars on that road at any given time? I'd venture to say no more than one per hour.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on August 13, 2012, 11:00:46 AM
Quote from: kphoger on August 13, 2012, 10:56:58 AM
There are few true pullouts. In Colorado, uphill traffic gets the right of way, and downhill traffic must reverse to a point where the road is wide enough to let the other car by. This usually means you end up riding the gravel right next to a sheer dropoff, or getting your mirror really close to the side of the mountain. Fun stuff!
awesome!
how many cars on that road at any given time? I'd venture to say no more than one per hour.
Back in the summer of (2002? whenever that was), we passed probably four to six vehicles on Tomboy Road. We only had to find a wide spot a couple of times, though; the other times, the road was wide enough already.
Quote from: kphoger on August 13, 2012, 10:07:56 AM
(Oh, by "gravel", I mean "rocky". I wouldn't try it in a Honda Civic coupé, but our Dodge minivan wouldn't have any trouble.)
Here's someone else's picture of the Ophir Pass road:
However, this road is not for the faint of heart or anyone who doesn't have experience taking their vehicle on rocky roads. Here are two pictures to illustrate my point:
Wow, it's just as treacherous as Camino del Muerte (Death Road) in Bolivia! :wow:
Quote from: national highway 1 on August 13, 2012, 08:18:51 PM
Wow, it's just as treacherous as Camino del Muerte (Death Road) in Bolivia! :wow:
yeah, huge convoys of buses and trucks everywhere...
Quote from: agentsteel53 on August 13, 2012, 08:40:33 PM
Quote from: national highway 1 on August 13, 2012, 08:18:51 PM
Wow, it's just as treacherous as Camino del Muerte (Death Road) in Bolivia! :wow:
yeah, huge convoys of buses and trucks everywhere...
Yeah, this is not a national route by any stretch; traffic is very light. And most of the road does not look like that last shot. It's not really a huge deal to drive, as long as your vehicle is up to the task. Tomboy Road, OTOH, over Imogene Pass should under no circumstances be attempted without 4WD.
Black Bear Road off US 550:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.narrowgauge.org%2F4x4%2Fimages%2Fblack_bear%2Fmal_4_bbr20.jpg&hash=1ac29d95aec53b3f15daed67bc8a34dba61fe4d6)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fforums.ghosttowns.com%2Fattachment.php%3Fattachmentid%3D6157%26amp%3Bd%3D1279832438&hash=711ba48487270d60902a321c84fb58dfcebee19a)
^ Black Bear Road is listed in my Colorado 4WD book as one of the most challenging roads in the Rockies. As may be evident from the photo, a Jeep is the only vehicle that has the turning radius you would need to make the hairpins, and then only with backing several times on each turn. A tight sphincter is required as well. The road is one way only, downhill. I never had the cojones to try this road when I had my Jeep.
I've hiked on hiking trails that were wider than either of those roads. :)
Quote from: The High Plains Traveler on August 14, 2012, 01:34:26 PM
^ Black Bear Road
Reminds me of this road:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ECp8ZyeFbw&feature=relmfu (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ECp8ZyeFbw&feature=relmfu)
In December 2001, I took this road....by bus. Yes, there were guys riding on the roof rack. For part of the way (admittedly, not the cliffhanger part), we were towing an old Internatinoal Scout with a chain. Meeting oncoming traffic was interesting. 85 miles took 5 hours.
Thanks for the responses, everyone, just wanted you all to know that they weren't just ignored and forgotten.
Didn't have 4WD, unfortunately, so I was consigned to the main roads...in the end I compromised (partially due to time constraints) with just Ouray-to-Silverton down and back on the MDH.
Might post some pictures once I get them up on Facebook.
Ive done it both North & South. North of Silverton is the best part either way. Take Mount Evans drive if you can. Its not quite like the dirt road but its a road like that which is paved and just barely holds two cars
Too late. The road to Mount Evans closes every year the day after Labor Day. You can still go part way, but not to the summit.
Quote from: Milepost61 on September 07, 2012, 10:55:35 PM
Too late. The road to Mount Evans closes every year the day after Labor Day. You can still go part way, but not to the summit.
Really? It doesn't snow this early does it? Well it was 43 at the summit in mid-August.
Quote from: texaskdog on September 10, 2012, 10:26:18 AM
Quote from: Milepost61 on September 07, 2012, 10:55:35 PM
Too late. The road to Mount Evans closes every year the day after Labor Day. You can still go part way, but not to the summit.
Really? It doesn't snow this early does it? Well it was 43 at the summit in mid-August.
I've been snowed on while driving I-70 in July.
Quote from: texaskdog on September 10, 2012, 10:26:18 AM
Quote from: Milepost61 on September 07, 2012, 10:55:35 PM
Too late. The road to Mount Evans closes every year the day after Labor Day. You can still go part way, but not to the summit.
Really? It doesn't snow this early does it? Well it was 43 at the summit in mid-August.
Oh yes it does...In fact, one of the Denver channels this morning was talking possible flurries in the higher elevations this week. Meanwhile, I actually saw it snow here in Grand Junction (elev 4800') on the last day of summer, 2006.
Glad I live in Central Texas then :)
One of my childhood teachers and family friends had lived in the town of Estes Park, CO, for nineteen months. He claims it snowed at least once every month for that period of time.
I once ran into a fairly serious snowstorm in Wyoming on US-14 on August 21st, which is generally one of the hottest days of the year*.
about 9000 feet elevation... will do it every time!
(* due to the buffering effect of the world's oceans, actual planet temperature lags behind solar radiation by a few months, so June 21st is the day with the most sunlight, but it generally isn't the hottest. the ocean effect makes it a very reasonable approximation to mark the solstices and equinoxes as the beginning, as opposed to the middle, of their respective seasons.)
Quote from: texaskdog on September 10, 2012, 10:26:18 AM
Quote from: Milepost61 on September 07, 2012, 10:55:35 PM
Too late. The road to Mount Evans closes every year the day after Labor Day. You can still go part way, but not to the summit.
Really? It doesn't snow this early does it? Well it was 43 at the summit in mid-August.
Doesn't matter what the weather is doing, the agreement CDOT has with the Forest Service requires the closure the Tuesday after Labor Day. CDOT doesn't own the Mount Evans Highway, it's on USFS land and is leased to CDOT.
US 550 Million Dollar Highway article on mountain safety:
http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20140624/NEWS01/140629751/Highway-to-hell-
QuoteThis month, USA Today named the Million Dollar Highway one of the "Top Ten Bucket List Road Trips" — a compliment to the beauty of Red Mountain Pass and an underhanded homage to its deadly track record.
Last year, USA Today pronounced the Million Dollar Highway from Durango to Ouray one of the "World's 12 Most Dangerous Roads," a distinction Red Mountain Pass shares with the "Highway of Death" in Iraq and the "Death Road" in Bolivia.
In an editorial, MSN Autos, an online car site, calls it a "highway to hell."
"It's scary," said Nancy Shanks, the Colorado Department of Transportation's spokeswoman for Region 5.
Red Mountain Pass, per mile, has the highest avalanche hazard on the North American Continent. The narrow two-lane road winds through the mountains like a drunk crazily stumbling, and there's no guardrail to protect cars attempting hairpin turns from hurtling into the jagged ravines that lie, stunning and ominous, hundreds of feet below.
"People stop in and ask, 'Why are there no guardrails?' We explain there's no room because plows have to push the snow off the edge in winter," said Heidi Pankow, public relations manager for the Ouray Chamber Resort Association. ...
Although the speed limit is 15 mph for much of Red Mountain Pass, Shanks said more than 300 accidents took place there between 1995 and 2010. The majority occurred in dry conditions and involved only one vehicle. Eight accidents killed nine people, including five highway workers. ...
Colorado's highway engineers have struggled to make Red Mountain Pass safer for decades; recently, they've had more success. Shanks said no avalanches have killed humans on Red Mountain Pass since CDOT started working with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center in 1992. Before then, it was a different story.
A question and answer section yields some historical info about the Million Dollar Highway:
QuoteWhy was it deemed necessary to build the road? Extensive mining in the area of Ouray, Red Mountain, Silverton and Telluride provided the impetus for the original construction of the toll road. Railroads reached Silverton and Ouray, but transportation of ore to the railheads required a wagon road. Later, with motor vehicle travel predominating, this major north-south route through southwestern Colorado became a major contributor to commerce.
I love how if you look this up on google maps, the west-east road just south of it says "closed Jan-Dec" :P
Quote from: texaskdog on December 01, 2014, 07:05:03 PM
I love how if you look this up on google maps, the west-east road just south of it says "closed Jan-Dec" :P
You're speaking of Forest Road 823, right (Black Bear Pass Summit Road)? If you don't have a 4WD, High Clearance vehicle, then the Jan-Dec rule holds true!
Can't say I have driven US-550 in the winter months, but it's a nice drive in the summer, and for the handful of times I have driven it, I have never had any real time stuck behind any slow trucks or RVs <knock on wood>.
It's actually an easier drive than US 160 over Wolf Creek Pass, because the curves are designed for low speeds (most drivers become more tolerant of high side friction demand the lower the speed is). You do have to watch closely as your car bites into downslopes, and paddle shifters confer a huge convenience advantage.
My wife and I drove this stretch inadvertently on our road trip a little over a week ago. Coming home from Utah, we stayed in Grand Junction to avoid the outrageous lodging costs in Moab, then came south from there. I only realized this to be the "million dollar highway after seeing some souvenir mugs at a gas station in Ouray. It was snowing for much of the drive to Silverton, and a beautiful drive.
Back to the O/P, I too would recommend Northbound, as the southbound drive was somewhat white-knuckle with 99% of my attention focused intently on the road ahead.
Really? We stayed in Moab in the summer for around $80. Unless you call that outrageous.
Quote from: texaskdog on March 30, 2015, 07:46:15 AM
Really? We stayed in Moab in the summer for around $80. Unless you call that outrageous.
Summer is actually off season, spring and winter are the best times of the year to enjoy Moab because its not too hot and not too cold. I stayed at Moab Canyonlands Campground about two weeks ago for $40 one night just so my girlfriend and I could enjoy showers, instead of paying $160+ rates at all the nearly full hotels. We have spent Christmases in Moab before, off hand I remember paying around $90 a night after taxes at the La Quinta Inn.
FWIW, I would recommend to anyone with four-wheel drive (or at least a real SUV and not a lame excuse for one) to drive Ophir Road between US-550 and CO-145. Ophir Pass is incredible.
Quote from: aboges26 on March 30, 2015, 10:52:47 PM
Quote from: texaskdog on March 30, 2015, 07:46:15 AM
Really? We stayed in Moab in the summer for around $80. Unless you call that outrageous.
Summer is actually off season, spring and winter are the best times of the year to enjoy Moab because its not too hot and not too cold. I stayed at Moab Canyonlands Campground about two weeks ago for $40 one night just so my girlfriend and I could enjoy showers, instead of paying $160+ rates at all the nearly full hotels. We have spent Christmases in Moab before, off hand I remember paying around $90 a night after taxes at the La Quinta Inn.
Yeah, we must've been passing thru in the middle of 4-wheelin' season or something, because I couldn't find a room in Moab online for less than $130.
I could've swung it, but I'd never been to Colorado, so I pretty much used the price of lodging as a dumb excuse to detour through GJ and Durango, and Farmington. all places I'd never seen. By the time we bought the million dollar hwy t-shirts, stickers and mugs, we spent a little more :) :) :) Fun trip!!
Colorado Natl Monument is nice, too.
We book trips month in advance, I don't know if that helps.
Planning in advance definitely helps; the first four days of of our trip were booked and planned about two months in advance. Since we had the rest of the week off, we left it open to either coming straight home, or exploring new country. I'm glad we chose the latter option.
More on US 550, the Million Dollar Highway, including its various hazards including avalanches and rock slides ... http://www.telluridenews.com/the_watch/article_169e9e56-b4ce-11e5-a154-37da427e13ca.html
QuoteU.S. Highway 550 is the official cartographer's term for the 70-mile ribbon of asphalt connecting Ouray and Durango – but it goes by several other names, as well.
San Juan Skyway, for instance, National Forest Scenic Byway. And, if you want to be dramatic, Highway to Hell.
That's how the automobile website MSN Autos recently described it, echoing a number of Internet lists. For Popular Mechanics, the highway ranked No. 3 on "10 of America's Most Dangerous Roads" in 2013. That same year, it was the only highway in the Lower 48 to make USA Today's list of the "World's Most Dangerous Roads." The transportation blog RoadCrazed featured it on a list of "The Most Dangerous Highways in America." YouTube users can find videos of trucks crossing 550's center line and barreling down on terrified motorcyclists.
Still, the best known name for U.S. 550 as it crosses the San Juan Mountains is "Million Dollar Highway" – though nobody seems to agree, exactly, on how that name came to be.
I was riding shotgun when I was on this road about 2 years ago. We were going from Pagosa Springs to Fruita to go rafting on the Colorado River. What surprised me the most was the fact that there are almost no guardrails on the road. What's up with that?
Quote from: US 41 on January 25, 2016, 09:27:58 AM
I was riding shotgun when I was on this road about 2 years ago. We were going from Pagosa Springs to Fruita to go rafting on the Colorado River. What surprised me the most was the fact that there are almost no guardrails on the road. What's up with that?
Cause that ain't comfy, pal. (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Million+Dollar+Hwy,+Colorado/@37.9193157,-107.6966844,4044m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x873ede475c10e957:0xfe1ed5e5b6f452c7)
Quote from: US 41 on January 25, 2016, 09:27:58 AM
I was riding shotgun when I was on this road about 2 years ago. We were going from Pagosa Springs to Fruita to go rafting on the Colorado River. What surprised me the most was the fact that there are almost no guardrails on the road. What's up with that?
Guard rails inhibit pushing snow off the roadway. And, when they're doing avalanche control, this is even more significant. Just be careful out there.
I did this in the days after the Front Range meet last year. I went northbound from Durango because I had heard it was slightly less nerve-inducing, but there are parts in both directions where there's only a white line between you and several hundred feet of death below.
I'd do that drive again in a heartbeat.
In all reality, I find the drive no more unnerving than US 191 between Clifton and Alpine, AZ...
aside from the fresh snow and icy patches I am to understand occur more frequently due to the extreme elevation, it seems like your garden variety mountain road... oh, and the avalanche overpass, that was pretty neat to look at.
Quote from: roadiejay on January 31, 2016, 07:19:48 AM
In all reality, I find the drive no more unnerving than US 191 between Clifton and Alpine, AZ...
aside from the fresh snow and icy patches I am to understand occur more frequently due to the extreme elevation, it seems like your garden variety mountain road... oh, and the avalanche overpass, that was pretty neat to look at.
I have driven the road twice and never noticed an avalanche overpass! Where on the road might that be?
Are you or anyone else familiar with the Hogsback on UT-12 in southern Utah? Its not nearly as long, but the short section on the narrow neck of the mesa and coming down from it sure spooked me worse than any spot on US 550, even coming up from Ouray to the pass.
Quote from: aboges26 on January 31, 2016, 09:26:41 PM
Quote from: roadiejay on January 31, 2016, 07:19:48 AM
In all reality, I find the drive no more unnerving than US 191 between Clifton and Alpine, AZ...
aside from the fresh snow and icy patches I am to understand occur more frequently due to the extreme elevation, it seems like your garden variety mountain road... oh, and the avalanche overpass, that was pretty neat to look at.
I have driven the road twice and never noticed an avalanche overpass! Where on the road might that be?
Are you or anyone else familiar with the Hogsback on UT-12 in southern Utah? Its not nearly as long, but the short section on the narrow neck of the mesa and coming down from it sure spooked me worse than any spot on US 550, even coming up from Ouray to the pass.
I will concur and say that US-550 between Ouray and Silverton is not that nerve-racking -- in the months when the road is clear and dry which is when I have driven it several times. Yes there are some narrow lanes at times, but I have driven some roads more scarier as they were gravel, dirt and/or washboard surfaced single-laners. Lands End Road connecting the Grand Mesa (Southeast of Grand Junction) and Whitewater is a great example.
Quote from: aboges26 on January 31, 2016, 09:26:41 PM
Are you or anyone else familiar with the Hogsback on UT-12 in southern Utah? Its not nearly as long, but the short section on the narrow neck of the mesa and coming down from it sure spooked me worse than any spot on US 550, even coming up from Ouray to the pass.
Yeah, that is spectacular. I think the lack of vegetation makes it seem even more precarious.
Quote from: aboges26 on January 31, 2016, 09:26:41 PMI have driven the road twice and never noticed an avalanche overpass! Where on the road might that be?
Near Ridgway, Colorado (https://www.google.com/maps/@37.9699184,-107.6585003,3a,75y,51.9h,89.46t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sC7QGz1V56KiOwEcAcrClpA!2e0!7i3328!8i1664!6m1!1e1)
Quote from: aboges26 on January 31, 2016, 09:26:41 PMAre you or anyone else familiar with the Hogsback on UT-12 in southern Utah? Its not nearly as long, but the short section on the narrow neck of the mesa and coming down from it sure spooked me worse than any spot on US 550, even coming up from Ouray to the pass.
I have driven on the relevant length of Utah SR 12 and have only a vague memory of this feature; I think I took it in stride because I am used to flyover direct connectors with no ground objects in ready view on either side.
Quote from: aboges26 on January 31, 2016, 09:26:41 PM
I have driven the road twice and never noticed an avalanche overpass! Where on the road might that be?
Roughly speaking--- It's a few miles into the gorge, coming south from Ouray:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_550#/media/File:Avalanche_chute_overpass,_US-550.jpg
It'd be interesting if the avalanche overwhelmed the chute and trapped cars under the overhang.
Quote from: Rothman on February 03, 2016, 10:37:52 PMIt'd be interesting if the avalanche overwhelmed the chute and trapped cars under the overhang.
It would indeed. The presumption has to be that Colorado DOT (an agency which hangs on to a residue of sovereign immunity) has chosen the length of the shed after careful study to determine the edges of the slide area, including taking rock samples to assess the potential for weathering.
I personally don't have a problem trusting CDOT to have done this, partly because a relatively small proportion of my annual mileage is spent on its infrastructure. But I can understand why others would have reservations, given very public failures such as the incompletely erected bridge girder in Denver that flipped onto its side and sagged down, essentially cutting in half a family passing on the freeway underneath. The NTSB later found that CDOT had failed to maintain sufficiently tight control over shop drawings and erection procedure.
Quote from: roadiejay on January 31, 2016, 07:19:48 AM
In all reality, I find the drive no more unnerving than US 191 between Clifton and Alpine, AZ...
I actually took a roadtrip last May specifically to drive that stretch of highway! I love the switchbacks, mountainous terrain and the views you get out there. Probably my favorite 50 miles anywhere to drive. I think the biggest allure is that traffic is so light I can go my own pace, whether it's gawking at scenery or seeing how the ol' car handles a sharp curve.
I've driven 550 a few times and don't recall it being too unnerving, but I deliberately only went in summer months. That said, I grew up in the mountains and learned to drive in that so I think I have a higher comfort level for it than some.
The Coronado Trail (191 between Alpine and Morenci) is great if you're not in a hurry. I feel bad for people who see it on a map and think "That looks like an interesting road to take" and then, after an hour of ceaseless 20mph curves, curse the world they live in. I drove it at night once and chased a rabbit down the road almost 1/4 mile. He just had no where to go. Had some great experiences at places along that road over the years. It's rare to find such wild country so close to a paved road.
550, for curves, has nothing on Coronado Trail, but the drop-offs are much worse on 550, and they certainly get more snow. I drove it in April or May once and the snow was piled on the sides well above my head. You could barely see the snow markers. I wonder sometimes if CDOT just takes keeping roads like that open in the winter as a personal challenge.
Quote from: kwellada on February 17, 2016, 08:22:38 PM
I actually took a roadtrip last May specifically to drive that stretch of highway! I love the switchbacks, mountainous terrain and the views you get out there. Probably my favorite 50 miles anywhere to drive. I think the biggest allure is that traffic is so light I can go my own pace, whether it's gawking at scenery or seeing how the ol' car handles a sharp curve.
Yes! The lack of traffic is definitely an advantage of being able to enjoy 191. It helps that traffic bound from Alpine to Clifton and vice versa has a perfectly reasonable alternative of driving US 180 thru New Mexico to get there in roughly the same amount of time.
AFAIK, US 550 lacks the luxury of an alternate route. When I drove it last March, I was tailgated constantly by the locals.
I've driven 550 twice. Both times south to Durango. Once in the evening, and once in the morning just as the sun was coming up. Spectacular scenery.
One of the highlights of the 2016 Summer Mountain Region Road Trip was a drive on US Route 550 from Montrose south to Durango. Of note US 550 from Ouray south to Silverton is the famous "Million Dollar" highway over Red Mountain Pass. The Million Dollar Highway was functionally completed as a toll road in the early 1880s but was upgraded as a modern highway by 1924. The "Million Dollar" name comes from the heavy expense it took to upgrade the early toll roads between Ouray and Silverton. US 550 passes through the massive Uncomphagre Gorge where numerous ghost towns and derelict can be found amid the numerous mountain peaks.
https://www.gribblenation.org/2020/03/2016-summer-mountain-trip-part-22-us.html