---

San Juan Skyway, Southwest Colorado

---

Location

Description

The 232 mile long San Juan Skyway forms a highly varied and extremely scenic loop through the beautiful San Juan Mountains. Photograph (30KB). Photograph (36KB). Photograph (30KB).

The route is very roughly in the shape of a right angled triangle with its right angle at Durango and its base formed by the Durango-Cortez highway (US160). The Skyway can therefore be traversed in either direction, starting from any point on the loop.

The route, starting at Durango and proceeding anti-clockwise (counter-clockwise), is as follows:

• Durango

• US550 North ("The Million Dollar Highway") over the Coal Bank Summit and Molas Divide passes (10,640 feet and 10,910 feet respectively). Photograph (37KB). The name comes from the low-grade gold ore used to form the road bed.

• Silverton.

• Continue on US550 North over Red Mountain Pass (11,008 feet).

• Ouray.

• Continue on US550 North.

• Ridgway.

• Turn left (west) onto Colorado State Highway 62 over the Dallas Divide pass (8970 feet).

• Placerville.

• Colorado State Highway 145.

• Take the short spur road (only a mile or two) into Telluride. Telluride is a skiing resort and therefore somewhat "exclusive" (i.e. expensive and touristy) but worth a look. Return by the same spur road to Colorado State Highway 145.

• Continue on Colorado State Highway 145 over the Lizard Head Pass (10,222 feet).

• Continue on Colorado State Highway 145 through the beautiful Dolores River Valley. Photograph (92KB).

• Dolores and the Anasazi Heritage Centre (reached via a short diversion of a mile or two).

• Cortez.

• Turn left onto US160 East and pass the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park. A visit to the Park will in itself require at least one entire day, separate to driving the San Juan Skyway. Don't try to visit the Park and drive the entire San Juan Skyway loop in the same day, it isn't possible.

• Continue on US160 East back to Durango.

Allowing for stops at the various towns along the way the complete loop will take a full day. To complete the experience I advise timing your arrival at Durango and Silverton so as to be able to see one of the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Steam Railroad trains arrive or depart. You can pick up a train timetable from the station in Durango.

There are no toll charges for using the San Juan Skyway and the entire route is on paved roads.

This part of Colorado would be an excellent choice if you don't want to drive long distances, or it could easily be combined with Monument Valley, the Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park area of southeastern Utah, the Grand Canyon and/or other locations of interest in the Four Corners region.

Although there is a road from Silverton and US550 just north of Ouray to Colorado 149 at Lake City, this is a unpaved road only suitable for four-wheel-drive vehicles.

There appears to be a road climbing up the mountainside from Telluride towards US550 at Red Mountain Pass but this isn't marked on the official Colorado state highway map. If the road exists then it almost certainly is a unpaved road only suitable for four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Some Ideas for Places to Stay

• Cortez

• Durango

• Farmington, New Mexico

In the Area

• Anasazi Heritage Centre, near Dolores

• Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico

• Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Steam Railroad

• Four Corners

• Mesa Verde National Park

• Ouray

• Silverton

• Vallecito Reservoir

Amusing, Interesting And Mysterious Place Names

Colorado Plateau

Grand Circle

Historic Trails, Named Roads, etc

Mountains

Mountain Roads

National Forests

Scenic Roads

Home | States/Provinces | Subjects

EMail me

Most recently modified 3-Sep-02