By Becca Blond
Southwestern Colorado is home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the state — purple mountains crowned with caps of snow, towering rock walls, aspen glades. To really get a feel for it, take a drive — particularly on U.S. 550, also known as the Million Dollar Highway between Ouray to Silverton. Fall is a particularly brilliant time to travel this route, when the aspen trees turn the mountainsides into yellow seas. If you're into winter sports, however, visiting in the snowy season can be equally appealing.
The Little City in the Canyon
The little town of Ouray in the box canyon is one of the most magical places in Colorado. Sandwiched between imposing peaks, tiny Ouray just might be that little bit of paradise John Denver waxes lyrical about in "Rocky Mountain High." Here the mountains don't just tower, they hug. The peaks leave barely one-quarter of a mile of valley floor in town!
Ouray is an outdoor enthusiast's dream: From hiking and horse riding to fishing in nearby mountain streams, there's plenty to do year-round. If you're an ice climber, you'll want to visit between December and March when the Ouray Ice Park is open. Climbing the face of a frozen waterfall is a sublime experience, and you can do it at this public park spanning a two-mile stretch of the Uncompagre Gorge, which is dedicated to ice climbing. The park is the world's first, drawing climbing enthusiasts of all skill levels from around the globe. Local sports shops around town offer weekend climbing courses that include gear rental, too. Each January the town hosts the Ouray Ice Festival, which features four days of climbing competitions, dinner slide shows and clinics.
Ouray town nestled between mountains.
© Holger Leue Lonely Planet Images.
After all that climbing, indulge in a healing soak. Ouray is just as famous for its healing powers as it is for its beauty. Visit the crystal-clear natural spring water (free of the sulphur smells plaguing other hot springs in this area) at the Ouray Hot Springs. The giant pool features a variety of soaking areas at temperatures from 96 F to 106 F, which helps make it one of the nicest public mineral springs in the region.
The Million Dollar Highway
Once you've spent the night in Ouray, get your camera poised for the Million Dollar Highway — the 24-mile stretch of U.S. 550 between Ouray and Silverton — one of America's finest paved drives. The road gets its name because its surface contains valuable ore rather than for the views — although these, too, are worth the cash. Clinging to the side of the crumbly mountains, it can be a spooky experience when raining or snowing, as it passes old mine shaft skeletons and larger-than-life alpine scenery. At some points, in fact, the jagged peaks seem close enough to reach out and grab you. The highway stays ploughed and operational year-round, even during the snowy winter months.
In warmer weather, you can rent a four-wheel drive to take a detour onto the Alpine Loop Backcountry Byway, five miles south of Ouray to Silverton on U.S. 550. A rugged and classic Colorado four-wheel-drive trail, the path leads through ghost towns like Animas Forks, forgotten stagecoach stops and trails to five "fourteeners," which are mountains over 14,000 feet high. Colorado has 52 of them, many in the southwestern portion of the state.
Chattanooga ghost town gold mine ruin on Million Dollar Highway in San Juan Mountains.
© Witold Skrypczak Lonely Planet Images.
Silverton: Colorado's Best-Kept Secret
Once you've had your taste of wild Colorado — and maybe even hiked a mountain — get back on the Million Dollar Highway and amble slowly over to Silverton. A dozen-odd years ago, when the last mine was shut down, it seemed Silverton was going to become just another ghost town. For a while it was: Tourists riding the Durango Silverton Railroad were greeted with long-abandoned storefronts and shabby restaurants. You'd hardly believe that today.
Silverton is Colorado's best rediscovered vintage gem and definitely worth the hype. Whether you're into snowmobiling, biking, fly-fishing or just basking in the sunshine, Silverton delivers. Plus it's a two-street town — only one of which is paved — that's literally in the middle of nowhere.
During summer, Silverton may be a tourist town by day, but once the warm weather departs, it turns back to local turf. Visit in the middle of the winter for a real treat — only the most hard-core residents stick around, and you'll find many of the T-shirt shops, and even hotels and restaurants, boarded up come first snowfall. Snowmobiles become the main means of transport, and Silverton turns into a winter adventure playground for intrepid travelers. There are a number of excellent ski resorts here too— including Purgatory, which is 50 miles to the south, near Durango.
Bio:Becca Blond has authored more than two dozen travel guides for Lonely Planet. A Boulder, Colo., resident, she loves to write about her adopted home state and the Southwest. She has coordinated Lonely Planet's" Southwest USA" guide and written the Rocky Mountain chapter of "USA" and "USA on a Shoestring."
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