The High Bridge Trail is a more strenuous alternative to the lower Box Canyon Falls Trail, climbing 200 feet to a suspension bridge that spans Box Canyon and offers views northeast to Ouray, Colorado. On sunny summer days and weekends, it’s also likely to be jam-packed with visitors, making an early morning or late afternoon …
Billed as “Ouray’s slot canyon,” Box Canyon Waterfall and Park is one of the most popular destinations in the area. Situated just outside southwest Colorado’s “Switzerland of America,” Box Canyon Falls is concealed in a dark, narrow gorge accessed only by a steel-reinforced walkway and staircase. Visit in spring, or after heavy rain, to see …
Continue reading Box Canyon Falls Trail (Box Canyon Park, CO)
Southwest Colorado’s “Million Dollar Highway”—also known, less memorably, as Route 550—traverses some of the most breathtaking scenery in the state. With sharp curves, steep grades, and a conspicuous lack of guard rails, it is also one of the most harrowing drives in the Rockies. The 23-mile section connecting Ouray to Silverton features historic ghost towns, …
Continue reading “Million Dollar Highway” – Ouray to Silverton
The Sutton Mine Trail—situated just south of Ouray, Colorado—rewards hearty hikers who brave the initial, gut-wrenching ascent with spectacular views of Ouray, Uncompahgre Gorge, Bear Creek Falls, and Abrams Mountain. Ending at an abandoned mine, this 2.2-mile jaunt packs nearly 700 feet in elevation gain into the first half-mile before leveling out atop a rocky …
Continue reading Sutton Mine Trail (Uncompahgre National Forest, CO)
The Portland Trail, just outside Ouray in southwest Colorado, offers close-up views of one of the area’s most striking features: a highly sculpted, bowl-shaped cliff face known as the Amphitheater. While composed mainly of grayish, volcanic rock, this west-facing wall is illuminated in the evening light, bringing out the whites, yellows, and purples and allowing …
Continue reading Portland Trail Loop (Uncompahgre National Forest, CO)
The Ouray Perimeter Trail, as the name suggests, forms a circuit around the picturesque town of Ouray in southwest Colorado. Far from being an easy city walk, however, this rugged track traverses high ledges, crosses deep canyons, and passes waterfalls and rocky outcrops in a half-day hike that offers vistas of Ouray from all sides. …
Continue reading Ouray Perimeter Trail (Uncompahgre National Forest, CO)
Live and Let Hike 