Silverton Colorado and the San Juan Mountains

Located at 9,300 feet above sea level in the middle of the San Juan Mountains within the beautiful Colorado Rockies is the small mining town of Silverton. It may be simply a day trip for some, visiting from Durango via the historic narrow gauge Durango-Silverton steam engine, but that will only give you a very small sample of what this amazing area has to offer.

Silverton is located north of Durango along highway 550, the “unofficial” section of the Million Dollar Highway. The 48-mile narrow, twisty mountain drive is gorgeous, ultimately descending into Silverton which was formed by an ancient volcanic caldera some 30-35 million years ago. Silverton, and this general region of the San Juan Mountains, became popular in the late 19th century for its abundant mining of silver, gold, lead, zinc and copper, and is recognized as one of the most mineral rich regions of the United States.

If you’re a mining history buff, the San Juan Mountains you will be like a kid walking into a candy store. Old mining ruins scatter the region and if you’re lucky you might even run into one of the old miners at a local saloon in town. A network of primitive roads was cut through the mountains to get to the mines and bring the ore back into town. These old mining roads are now what makes up one of the most expansive sets of off-road trails in the country where people come from all of over the world to experience. You may have heard of trails such as The Alpine Loop or Black Bear Pass, we’ll talk more about them in a bit.

We set up camp for a month at Red Mountain RV park. The park is nothing more than a gravel lot, typical for the area, but the park does have great people working there and as a huge bonus we could watch the Durango-Silverton steam engine come into town everyday right out our front window! By the way, if you’re ever in Durango, be sure to experience the train, just come back to Silverton for a longer visit in the future.

We found the town of Silverton to be charming and accommodating with friendly people. We could literally walk to anywhere from our RV park (including the often-visited grocery store and coffee shops). Although things do get a little busier for a couple hours during the early afternoon when the trains arrive, it never felt overly crowded. There are tons of cool shops with local artifacts and clothing mixed in with some good restaurants and bars, so there’s always a place to satisfy your palate or thirst. Our personal favorites included: Handlebars Food and Saloon, The Eureka Station, Kendall Mountain Cafe and El Bandito for (surprisingly) good Mexican food. Also be sure to check out Coffee Bear and climb the stairs to the balcony where you have a birds eye view of town with the mountain backdrop.

OK, now back to the real reason we were here. If you’re an off-road enthusiast, this is the place to be, whether you bring your own off-road vehicle or rent a Jeep or OHV locally. It’s important to note that although there are plenty of easy trails here, many of them require experience and preparation. The trails in the San Juan Mountains are known for their narrow shelf roads with steep drop-offs, challenging terrain and of course magnificent scenery.

TIP: Before venturing out on the trails, consider the following:

• Your individual skill-level and equipment in regards to narrow shelf and steep trails.
• If you or your passengers have a fear of heights, consider this seriously before you commit to the trails.
• Always start the day with a full tank of gas.
• Many of the trails will climb to near 13,000 feet where the weather can be dramatically different than in town, and change very quickly. Check the weather forecast and bring extra clothes.
• Airing down and disconnecting sway bars is highly recommended and often required.
• Pick up an Alpine Loop Trail Map in town, this provides a great overview of the overall trail system.
• Use an off-road app such as Trails Offroad and familiarize yourself with the trails before you head out.
• Go with a group if possible – not only is it more fun with a group but it’s nice to have other people (possibly more experienced) with you when you run into those tricky sections.
• Pack plenty of food and water, you will have some long days in high altitudes.

We drove a lot of trails while we were in Silverton ranging from hard to easy… and even a couple we hadn’t planned on doing. One thing we found was that the trail rating system (we use Trails Offroad) seemed to understate the trail difficulty in this area, meaning that often we felt the trails to be more difficult than advertised. This could be because of trail deterioration and rockslides that are common. The other thing we noticed is that it didn’t matter the trail length or difficulty, there is amazing scenery around every corner in the San Juan Mountains.

I’ll breakdown the trails we did in difficulty categories, but keep in mind this is based on a driver at an intermediate (yes, I upgraded myself after all of this) off-road experience level with a slightly modified, un-lifted Jeep.

HARD TRAILS

Black Bear Pass is the most well-known trail in the San Juan Mountains and possible the whole country due to its amazing views and extremely tight switchbacks along a very narrow shelf road dropping over 900 feet straight down. This is a Jeep Badge of Honor Trail for good reason and requires extreme caution and 100% driver attention at all times. We did this as a group with several great folks we met at the RV park. I felt very accomplished (and proud of my co-pilot) after finishing this.

Mineral Creek was a partial trail we took to get from Engineer Pass to Poughkeepsie Gulch. The eastern side of this trail is supposed to be the “easier” side. In our un-lifted Jeep we found many of the obstacles along the shelf road to be a significant challenge requiring precise tire placement. We scraped our skid plates quite a bit.

Poughkeepsie Gulch, although officially rated as a “4-Moderate”, was in some ways even more difficult than Mineral Creek. There was one section that I swear was a minefield of old Volkswagen Beetles that we had to traverse over. At one point I seriously was not sure we were going to get through it – but we persevered, and earned another Jeep Badge of Honor. The big prize for finishing this trail is being able to pull right up to the turquoise waters of Lake Como at the end.

INTERMEDIATE TRAILS

Engineer Pass is the northern section of the long Alpine Loop, taking you east to Lake City. It takes an extremely long day to finish the entire loop so many people opt to camp out along the way or spend the night in Lake City. We took the trail up and down the pass and then for a bit more to waypoint 11 before backtracking. This is another amazing Jeep Badge of Honor trail, traversing up to almost 13,000 feet at the pass.

Cinnamon Pass is the southern section of the Alpine Loop, connecting up with Engineer Pass in Lake City. We used the same strategy and took this up and down the pass for about a 14-mile round trip journey. Words and pictures cannot properly describe the beauty!

Corkscrew Pass is a super fun trail with less rock and more packed dirt. The trail meanders along, twisting through the forest, living up to its namesake. You enter the trail from Highway 550 and head east into the heart of the San Juan’s, so this is either an up and back trail or to be combined with other trails as we did.

Hurricane Peak was the second leg of our day, starting at Corkscrew Pass. This is another gorgeous trail with a lot of mining history. We even found a spot for the dogs to play in the snow, on this August afternoon. The trail ends at an amazing overlook of Lake Como, a view you will not soon forget.

California Pass was the third leg of our day, continuing from Hurricane Peak. The trail climbs to just under 13,000 feet at the pass with more views of Lake Como and the San Juan Mountains. Be sure to take the short spur trail to Mountain Queen Mine, which is one of the few structures you can actually walk into. This trail will take you back to the ghost town of Animas Forks, but we opted to cut off to another trail to finish out the day.

Picayne and Placer Gulch is the trail we picked up from California Pass for our return back to Silverton. Although rated as Easy, we found this trail to be very similar in difficulty as the others we did on this day, albeit it does get progressively easier as you go. It’s a good return trail if you’ve already been to Animas Forks.

Ophir Pass was a trail we did twice, once purposely and a second time to get back from Ouray when The Million Dollar Highway (Highway 550) was closed due to a tragic accident that we came upon earlier in the day. The iconic feature of this Jeep Badge of Honor trail is a long crescent shaped shelf. Be sure to look far ahead to make sure it’s safe to proceed at the shelf, because there’s no room to pass.

Clear Lake is a shorter trail that climbs steeply to a gorgeous lake. What the trail lacks in excitement and scenery, is more than made up for at this picturesque mountain paradise at the end.

Bullion King is short lesser-known trail that runs parallel to the beginning of Black Bear Pass. It climbs quickly with tight switchbacks and a very narrow shelf with minimal opportunities to pass. The views are amazing, but the best part of this trail is when you park at the end and put your hiking boots on. There are three glacial lakes to see, with the first only a little over a half mile. This might just be the most beautiful spot we saw all month.

EASY TRAILS

Maggie Gulch is an extremely pleasant easy trail but still be mindful, these easy trails are not meant for the family BMW or Prius. At minimum you should have a capable SUV with all-terrain tires. The trail dead ends at a nice spot with some old mining equipment to check out.

Minni Gulch is just down from Maggie Gulch and has a couple surprise features. Check out the small waterfall on the left, cascading off the canyon walls. This is a great spot to get out for a closer look. There is also a spur trail that gets you down to a larger waterfall that you can see from a distance. Minni and Maggie are a good 1-2 punch for a well-deserved tamer day.

Eureka Gulch is just a bit further down from Minni Gulch and is the site of the famous Sunnyside Mine. Although there is little left of the mine, the story behind the mine disaster in 1978 remains close for many. Lake Emma’s waters breached the mine and took out everything in its path. Fortunately, this happened on a Sunday evening so no lives were lost. The trail takes you to the mine site in a beautiful spot where you can explore around on foot or via the many trails in the basin.

Velocity Basin is one of our favorite spots and an example of how you can see some amazing sites in the San Juan Mountains with minimal effort. The easy trail leads to a glacial fed lake with a magnificent sheer mountain backdrop. This is the site for extreme backcountry skiing and snowboarding in the winter. The Olympic gold medalist, Shawn White, used to train in this area. It’s a great spot to walk around the lake and take it all in.

So, other than the charming town and great off-roading, what else is there to do in the Silverton area? Well, I’m glad you asked because there’s plenty. Here’s a list of great options for your days off from the trails:

Visit the San Juan County Mining Heritage Museum

On the far end of town is this amazing mining museum, From the outside it looks like a simple one room museum but you will quickly get emersed into three floors of mining history and the feeling you are actually in a mine. As a bonus, your admission will get you into the prison museum next door. This is a must stop to learn about the mining history of the region.

Take a Tour of Old Hundred Mine

Just outside of town is this opportunity to experience a real mine with operational equipment inside. You will take a 1/3-mile journey in a mine train deep into Galena Mountain. Our tour guide, Bob, was a miner in the Sunnyside mine and gave us a firsthand perspective and demonstration of the mining equipment (with assistance from volunteer Shannon). What a blast!

Pay Your Respects at the Christ of the Mines Shrine

Overlooking Silverton is this monument that pays tribute to miners and to the Silverton’s mining heritage. It’s a quick drive (or hike) up the hill and also provides one of the best views of Silverton.

Check out Mineral Creek Falls

This gorgeous waterfall can be seen from a distant overlook or with a little scrambling you can get right down to the pool underneath the falls. Map to South Mineral Campground and then continue on the rough gravel road a little bit further to a small pullout on the left. It’s a short venture on foot from there.

Exercise your Lungs with a High Alpine Hike

There’s plenty of hiking opportunities in the area, but most have a significant altitude gain. Consider this when you’re starting out at over 10,000 feet. I took the Highland Mary Lake Trail which is a 5-mile hike gaining 1,400 feet to an altitude of 12,200 feet. Let me tell you, oxygen is hard to find at this altitude! I took it slow and was rewarding by the beautiful lakes up top.

Take a Stroll to Molas Lake

Just a few miles south of town is an easy trail for a pleasant hike and a very pretty lake. This would be perfect for anyone’s daily exercise program.

Drive the Million Dollar Highway

One of the most beautiful and dangerous roads in the country is the stretch of Highway 550 between Silverton and Ouray. Although it’s paved, it is very narrow (sometimes the white line is right on the edge) with sheer drop-offs. Take it slow and leave most of the sightseeing for the passengers. Be sure to pull over at Bear Creek Falls and the Switzerland of America Lookout Point, overlooking Ouray.

Take a Day Trip (or two) to Ouray

Ouray is a great town, bigger than Silverton, about 40 minutes to the north with tons to do. The town has the usual shops, taverns and restaurants and plenty to explore. Top on the list is Box Cañon Falls, a magnificent spot that you can explore via the graded catwalk that traverses through, and above, the canyon. The Perimeter Trail is a 5.4-mile trail that encircles the city from above. I took the trail from Box Cañon and came down on the other side of town. Cascade Falls is also a must see, either from the Perimeter Trail or by driving right to the parking lot and taking a short walk.

Visit the Ski Town of Telluride

Telluride has a certain cool vibe to it and is well worth a day trip. You have the downtown area and Mountain Village (the ski area) to explore. A free gondola runs in-between the two areas in the summer to make it convenient. The mountains surrounding the town makes for an epic scene. Although it’s a long drive from Silverton, this would be a good stop after completing one of the trails, such as Black Bear Pass or Ophir Pass, which bring you out at or near Telluride.

We had an amazing month in Silverton exploring so much of what this part of Colorado has to offer. Setting up basecamp in Silverton was perfect. We loved the town and the convenience of the easy “Jeep-in, Jeep-out” access to all the off-road trails. We’ve got a lot more to explore in the Colorado Rockies before old man winter send us on our way, so we will check back with you soon down the road a piece. Be sure to check out all of our amazing pictures from Silverton and the San Juan Mountain region.