Ouray Colorado and the Million Dollar Highway

Beautiful Ouray, Colorado (pronounced U-ray) is also known as the "Switzerland of America," as the mountains and canyons surrounding Ouray are filled with some of the West's most unforgettable scenery.  (All photos and photo collages in this post will enlarge for easier viewing if clicked on)

The town is set at the narrow head of a valley, enclosed on three and a half sides by steep mountains.

The town of Ouray was originally established by miners looking for silver and gold in the surrounding mountains. At its height, there were over 30 established mines. The town was incorporated in 1876, and named after Chief Ouray of the Utes Native American tribe. Located at the narrow head of a valley, Ouray is surrounded on three sides by towering peaks, some 13,000 feet high.

The entirety of Main Street is registered as a National Historic District, with most of the buildings dating back to the late nineteenth century. Click to enlarge to read this placard that shows the buildings of Ouray's early times.

The Beaumont Hotel, the Ouray County Courthouse, the Wright Opera House and many other ornate buildings and houses bring charm and history to the town. There is also  Ouray Hot Springs pool open year-round in town--a million-gallon pool of sulfur-free mineral water.  We were tempted to visit the hot springs pool, as we did in Steamboat, but decided to take a scenic drive along the Million Dollar Highway instead

No one is sure how the Million Dollar Highway got its name. It is about a 25-mile portion of US 550 between Ouray and Silverton., and part of the San Juan Scenic Skyway. Some guess it took a million dollars to build, or that the road fill dirt contains about a million dollars of gold ore, and some say it would take a million dollars to make them ride over this narrow two-lane highway.

Originally built in 1883 by Otto Mears as a tollway from Ouray to the now-abandoned town of Ironton. The road was extended to connect Silverton and Ironton over Red Mountain Pass,

The highway offers spectacular views of the San Juan Mountain Range and the Uncompahgre Gorge.  The photo above shows a look back on the road we just traveled., on the right, which shows how the road hugs the mountain peak.

In fact, the road cuts through the mountain at points and through tunnels built at points where there are frequent avalanches.  Even though we took this ride in late November, there was already significant snow and ice in the mountains and along the highway

The views were gorgeous!

High mountain peaks on the right and left--it was easy to see why this area is called the Switzerland of America!

Some of the areas we passed through had large aspen groves, which must be so colorful in early autumn.

Magnificent vistas...

...of high peaks...

...and forests.

Loved this view of Mt. Sneffels, 14154 feet high!

We thought we'd drive on the Million Dollar Highway all the way through to Silverton, but the weather ahead began to look threatening when we were just a few miles away.  Since more snow was predicted that day, we used a turn out to turn around and go back to Ouray. 

There was a lot of ice and icicles hanging off Red Mountain.  It is easy to see why Ouray is the ice climbing capital of the US. The world's first ice climbing park consists of dozens of frozen waterfalls from 80 to 200 feet high, along a mile of the Uncompahgre Gorge. The Ouray Ice Park is free, and attracts climbers from around the world!

 Red Mountain gets its name from the red iron ore in it. 

Back towards the very narrow and curving Red Mountain Pass. The Million Dollar Highway is considered by many to be one of the most dangerous roads to drive,...

...but it handles an average daily traffic count of 2200 cars a day and is a vital roadway for the area. The log hauler truck, seen in the photo above was just a short distance in front of us on our way back.

Before entering Ouray we stopped at a pull out to take photos by the historical markers at the end of the Million Dollar Highway.  As you can see the wind was blowing and the storm was approaching. We looked forward to going back to the house we rented in Ridgway and sit by the fireplace and heat up some warm food. We loved our visit to Ouray and hope to come back someday to visit it in other seasons.  

The next blog post I'll show some sights from Ridgway, Colorado--the town often used for early Western movie backdrops and where John Wayne starred in  the movie"True Grit." Come back soon!