Epic Day Trips

Scenic Drives

Epic Day Trips Around the Area

The winding mountain roads and charming western towns surrounding Ridgway make for epic car and motorcycle tours. Ridgway is the perfect place to stage a series of classic day trips, complete with hot springs and friendly pubs to soothe away your road weariness when you return at the end of the day. We are part of many historic and scenic routes that connect our rural burgs to nearby towns and points of interest with shared history and purpose. The Alpine Loop is one of our most well-known but only accessible by four-wheel drive.

Highway 62 outside of Ridgway – Kane Scheidegger Last Dollar Road in Fall – Kane Scheidegger

Cimarron Mountains and Owl Creek Pass

Considered one of the most scenic drives in the U.S.A., this pass travels through jagged cliffs, babbling brooks, sites of Western movie sets, and has great opportunities for wildlife viewing and fishing. This route, laced with strands of aspen, is especially beautiful in the fall. This adventurous day trip will take you into the heart of the magnificent Cimarron Mountains. The peaks of Chimney Rock and Courthouse Mountain will watch over you as you drive along a dirt road, which once was a cattle drive trail.

Million Dollar Highway and San Juan Skyway

A trip to Ouray County isn’t complete without a ride along the Million Dollar Highway, the section of Highway 550 between Ouray and Silverton, listed on many top scenic drives lists. Extend this to cover the entire San Juan Skyway Scenic and Historic Byway, a 233mile loop to meander through Ouray, Ridgway, Telluride, Rico, Dolores, Cortez, Durango, and Silverton. It’s a drive through some of the most spectacular aspen stands, views and historic sites in the country. The drive is stunning in any season: spring offers hundreds of waterfalls along the route, summer brings fields of wildflowers, fall provides iconic golden-colored vistas, and winter gives you a high-contrast trip with robin’s egg blue skies and endless white powder fields.

Recommended by Locals

n Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park – south and north rim drives, Montrose, Ute Indian Museum,

Montrose County Historical Museum, antique shops n Telluride – National Historic District, a world-class ski and golf resort, free summer gondola, San Juan

Mountain high country n Silver Thread Scenic Byway – historic districts of Creede and Lake City, Lake San Cristobal, Rio Grande River n Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic Byway – picturesque canyons, historic Hanging Flume, Gateway, Whitewater,

Grand Junction, Colorado National Monument n Trail of the Ancients – Four Corners, Crow Canyon

Archaeological Center, Lowry Pueblo, Ute Mountain Ute

Tribal Park, Galloping Goose Railcar & Museum

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