Anything heading to Animas Forks was fun too, like Corkscrew Gulch and California Pass. Ophir was ok and Clear/Crystal (can’t remember which) Lake was a fun short run. We usually camped at the KOA just outside of Ouray, but stayed at the hotel in Ouray a couple times too, and most recently we rented a house a few miles up the foothills outside of Ridgeway. That was my favorite place to stay - elk could be seen every night. We started out going over the mountain passes with Jeep’s and Blazers, even a Ext Cab F250 once. But switched to 4 wheelers for the last few times out there. We could cover a lot more ground, and everyone got to drive and have fun. Just got to be a PITA if we wanted to head into town or catch another trail with all the loading and unloading..
I always enjoyed spending more time in Silverton than Ouray. I guess I was always drawn to its rougher nature - more stuck in time, if you will. Some of my family has taken the steam engine to Durango, but I never got that chance each time we were out.
I’ve been to Telluride a few times too, mostly coming over Imogene, and once on Last Dollar. We attempted Black Bear once but there was a rock slide blocking the trail, so we turned around. My dad has since been all the way across it 2 or 3 times now in his 2012 JK. It’s been 10 years since I’ve been out that way at all.
