I've been planning a trip to Ouray for the past three years, and each year something has come up at work where we couldn't go.. However, THIS is the year we are making the trek! We will be at the KOA in Ouray from 8/2-8/7. We are planning to ride Ophir, Engineer, Black Bear, Imogene, and Cinnamon Passes for sure, and hoping to run Poughkeepsie Trail if someone wants to join us for any or all of them. We also plan to do some hiking trails and drive down to Silverton and Durango to visit some friends along the way.

We love Colorado, and have been making at least one trip out per year, over the last 10 years, (either spring or winter) for hiking or snowboarding. However, we usually go to Breckenridge, Vail, Denver, CO Springs areas, this is our first time to Ouray! We've never hauled the jeep out here for trail riding, but have always wanted to. We are pumped for this trip and any fellow JKer's are welcome to join us for any of the trails they'd like..



Luke

 

I'll be out there before you all but you're definitely going to have a blast. I make the trip from OK to Durango at least twice a year and I'm still discovering new trails! Try to make time for the Clear Lake trail North West of Silverton, it's definitely one of my favorite to get out and hike as you can see in the above photo. You'll pass right by the turn off (County Road 7) if you go to the Ophir trail head from Silverton.
One last note, the Guide to Colorado's Backroads & 4- Wheel Drive Trails by Charles A. Wells is an incredible resource for an off roader anywhere in Colorado. A lot of the little souvenir stores have the book in stock.

 

thanks for the heads up! I've had that book and the Moab book by Charles Wells for about 5 years.. I'm finally getting to put them to use!!

I've been coming to Breckenridge, CO Springs, Denver, and boulder areas of CO for the past 10 years from the Southeast.. We are Finally dragging the jeep out west to enjoy the trails!!

Thanks for the advice! Clear Lake is on our list.. among many others!!

We are looking forward to it!

 

One of the 4x4 clubs is running Black Bear Pass backwards on 8/1 & 8/2. I highly suggest doing black bear (BBP) backwards (up hill) as this is a special event and you can only run BBP downhill normally. Also if you plan on running BBP on 8/2 you will need to wait till 12:00 PM as the trail will be closed till then.
Wild Bunch 4x4 Club

I highly suggest Yankee Boy Basin, not hardcore wheeling, but the wildflowers are truly amazing.

 

We have a group of 6 couples that will be arriving on August 1st, We are staying in a rental house almost across the road from the KOA

 

I'd love to run Black bear backwards on 8/2. However we prob won't be unloaded and set up in time to do that as we can't check-in til 3pm. Plus we are driving/hauling straight through from SC..27 hrs! I checked the 'wild bunch 4x4 club' website and it doesn't say what time the ride starts on Sunday. If someone knows, let me know and I may adjust our departure time so we could ride it Sunday backwards!! And possibly camp in montrose on 8/1.

We are definitely hitting Yankee Boy Basin as well.


Luke

 

Let me know if you guys want some more company on some of your trail rides. We ( my wife , best friend , and pup) plan to ride every day. Pm me and I'll get you my contact info. Always great to meet new folks, especially fellow jeepers!

 

We're headed to Ouray on July 12th through the morning of the 15th and then on to Moab with a detour to Four Corners from the 15th to the 18th. According to BushDucks dot com, Black Bear Pass is still closed and could be for another few weeks. The picture that was taken and posted Friday, July 3rd still showed about 8 feet of snow across the trail. I do believe the road is open to the summit from the Ouray side though. We're going to try to do the Corkscrew Gulch to Engineer Pass leg (EP is open) and stop to fish at Lake Como but depending on the kids and time, we may just cut it short at Animas Fork and come back down through Silverton. I've found that Trail Damage has really good write ups and directions while Bush Ducks is much better for trail status (open/closed/etc.) Will let you know how the trails are!

 

I guess I need to update my avatar picture..

We now have a white 2015 JKUR that I've been working on.. Picture of it below.. look for us if you're in the area at the same time we are!