San Juan Skyway

The San Juan Skyway is a loop, not a straight line, so you can start anywhere along it and end up back where you began. It stitches together four highways: US-550 up the eastern side, US-160 across the south, and CO-145 and CO-62 down and across the west. All told it runs about 233 miles and can be driven in roughly six hours without stops, though almost nobody drives it that fast. Between the passes, the overlooks, and the historic towns, most people give it a long, full day or turn it into an overnight trip.

What sets the Skyway apart is elevation. The loop crosses several high mountain passes, and a few of them, including Red Mountain Pass at about 11,000 feet, sit well above the treeline where the air is thin and the views are enormous. On the way up you pass through forests of aspen and spruce, past old mine tailings and waterfalls, with jagged peaks filling the windshield at nearly every turn. The road is fully paved the whole way around, so an ordinary car handles the loop just fine in good weather.

The most talked-about piece of the loop is the 25-mile stretch of US-550 between Silverton and Ouray, the Million Dollar Highway. It climbs over Red Mountain Pass in a series of tight switchbacks carved into the mountainside, and in places the outer edge drops away steeply with no guardrail between the pavement and the canyon below. It is a slow, careful, deeply memorable drive. Take your time, use the pullouts to soak in the view rather than gawking from behind the wheel, and let faster traffic go by.

Most travelers begin the loop in Durango, the largest town on the route and an easy base with its own regional airport. Coming from Denver, the simplest approach is to drive south and west across the state on US-285 and US-160, a long but scenic haul of roughly six to seven hours that delivers you straight to Durango. From there you can pick up the Skyway heading north on US-550.

Coming from the south, out of New Mexico, take US-550 north from Bernalillo near Albuquerque, or follow US-160 west from the Pagosa Springs area, and you will reach Durango in a few hours. From the west, travelers driving in from Utah or the Four Corners area come in on US-160 through Cortez, which puts you near Mesa Verde National Park and the western side of the loop first.

Because it is a loop, direction is a matter of taste. Many people drive it clockwise, heading north out of Durango on US-550 to hit the dramatic Million Dollar Highway early, then continuing through Ouray and Ridgway to Telluride before curving back south through Rico and Dolores to Durango. Others go counterclockwise to save the biggest passes for the end. Either way you see the same country, just in a different order.

The San Juan Skyway follows roads born out of Colorado's silver and gold rush. In the 1870s and 1880s, prospectors poured into the San Juan Mountains and threw up mining camps in places that seemed almost impossible to reach, wedged into box canyons and perched on high shelves of rock. Towns like Silverton, Ouray, and Telluride sprang up almost overnight, and they needed roads to haul ore out and supplies in.

The Million Dollar Highway stretch between Ouray and Silverton grew from a rough toll road built in the 1880s by Otto Mears, a pioneering road and railroad builder known as the Pathfinder of the San Juans. His crews blasted a route through terrain so steep that no easy path existed. Over the following decades the road was widened, rerouted, and paved into the modern US-550 that travelers drive today, though it still follows much the same daring line across the cliffs. The name Million Dollar Highway has several competing origin stories, from the cost of building it to a claim that the roadbed fill contained valuable ore, and locals happily argue over which is true.

The full loop was formally recognized as the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway by the state of Colorado in 1989, and the U.S. Forest Service designated it a National Forest Scenic Byway around the same time. Its national moment came in 1996, when the Federal Highway Administration named it an All-American Road, the top tier of the country's scenic byway program, reserved for routes considered a destination in their own right. Only a small number of roads nationwide hold that honor.

Today the mining that built these towns has mostly given way to tourism, but the history is everywhere you look. Victorian storefronts still line the main streets, narrow-gauge steam trains still run out of Durango and Silverton just as they did in the 1880s, and old mine works cling to the slopes above the road. The Skyway is, in a real sense, a drive through a living museum of the mountain West.

• The San Juan Skyway was named an All-American Road, the highest honor in the national scenic byway system, in 1996. It was Colorado's first road to earn that distinction.
• The famous Million Dollar Highway between Ouray and Silverton grew from an 1880s toll road built by Otto Mears, a road and railroad builder nicknamed the Pathfinder of the San Juans.
• Nobody agrees on how the Million Dollar Highway got its name. The stories range from the cost of building it, to the value of the view, to a claim that the roadbed gravel was full of gold-bearing ore.
• Ouray is nicknamed the Switzerland of America for its dramatic setting, walled in on nearly every side by peaks that rise more than 13,000 feet.
• The loop crosses several high mountain passes, and parts of Red Mountain Pass sit above the treeline at around 11,000 feet, where trees can no longer grow because the air is too thin and cold.
• The red rock and rust-colored soil around Red Mountain Pass get their color from iron in the ground, a visible reminder of the mineral riches that first drew miners here.
• A coal-fired narrow-gauge steam train has run between Durango and Silverton since 1882, following the Animas River gorge on tracks blasted into canyon walls that no road parallels.
• In fall, the aspen forests along the Skyway turn brilliant gold, and the loop becomes one of the most celebrated leaf-peeping drives in the entire country.

The Federal Highway Administration named the San Juan Skyway an All-American Road in 1996, the highest honor in the national scenic byway system. It was recognized earlier, in 1989, as a Colorado Scenic Byway and a U.S. Forest Service Scenic Byway. The All-American Road designation is reserved for routes considered a destination in their own right, and the Skyway was the first road in Colorado to earn it.

The San Juan Skyway is a loop of about 233 miles through the San Juan Mountains, linking US-550, US-160, CO-145, and CO-62. Driven straight through without stops it takes roughly six hours, but almost nobody drives it that way. With the passes, overlooks, and historic towns to explore, most travelers give it a full day or turn it into an overnight trip.

The highlights include the four historic mining towns of Durango, Silverton, Ouray, and Telluride, plus the dramatic Million Dollar Highway stretch over Red Mountain Pass. High-country overlooks at Molas Pass, Coal Bank Pass, and Lizard Head Pass offer huge mountain views with little or no walking. Mesa Verde National Park, just off the southwestern leg on US-160, adds ancient cliff dwellings to the drive.

Yes. The San Juan Skyway follows public highways, so driving the loop itself is free. Some attractions along the way charge admission, such as Mesa Verde National Park and the Durango and Silverton steam train, and certain trailheads or recreation areas may have parking or use fees. The road, though, costs nothing to drive.

Summer and early fall are the prime seasons, when all the high passes are clear and the towns are lively. Late September into early October is especially prized, because the aspen forests turn brilliant gold and the loop becomes one of the most famous fall-color drives in the country. Early morning and the hours near sunset bring the softest light on the peaks.

The loop is generally open all year, since the highways that make it up are kept plowed through winter. That said, the high passes, especially the Million Dollar Highway over Red Mountain Pass, can close temporarily after heavy snowstorms or during avalanche control work. In winter, always check current road conditions before you set out, and be ready to change your plans if a pass is closed.

No. The main Skyway loop is fully paved, and an ordinary passenger car handles it well in good weather. Four-wheel drive and high clearance are only needed for the many rough backcountry and old mining roads that branch off the loop, such as the routes to alpine lakes and ghost towns. For the paved Skyway itself, a regular car is fine.

Winter driving on the Skyway is serious business. The high passes get deep snow, ice, and strong wind, and the Million Dollar Highway in particular is steep, narrow, and prone to closures after storms or for avalanche control. If you drive it in winter, use a vehicle suited to snowy mountain roads, carry chains or proper snow tires, go slowly, and check road conditions before every leg. When in doubt, wait for the weather to clear.

Yes, but the towns are spaced out, so plan ahead. Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Ridgway, Telluride, and Cortez all have fuel, food, and lodging, but long mountain stretches run between them with no services at all. It is smart to top off your tank in a town before a big climb rather than counting on finding gas near a high pass.

The loop crosses several passes above 10,000 feet, and Red Mountain Pass reaches about 11,000 feet, high enough that the air is noticeably thinner than at sea level. Some visitors feel lightheaded, short of breath, or tired at these elevations, especially if they arrived recently from lower ground. Take it easy, drink plenty of water, and give yourself time to adjust. If anyone feels unwell, the simple fix is to descend to a lower elevation.