Ophir Pass

Difficulty Rating: 2.5. The reason for the 2.5 rating is because of the possible need for low-range. This is a difficult 2, but a really easy 3. If you take care you could probably do it in a small cross-over SUV without low-range, but I wouldn't want to make my little stock Jeep Patriot on this trail. If you start from the Silverton (east) side and travel toward Telluride, you go down the steep and loose parts making it easier. If you don't have low-range, I would start from the Silverton side.

Location: South of Telluride. The pass is between highway 145 and the Million Dollar Highway (550).

Trailhead: The west end starts 7.2 miles southh of the roundabout going into Telluride on Highway 145. The GPS oordinates for the west side are 37.861972, -107.870146 (37°51'43.1"N 107°52'12.5"W).

The east end starts on the Million Dollar Highway (highway 550). It starts 17.8 miles south of Ouray (measured from 3rd Ave and highway 550). It is 4.8 miles north of Silverton (from the gas station at the edge of town). Coordinates are 37.847542, -107.724780 (37°50'51.1"N 107°43'29.2"W).

This is a short road, just under 10 miles. It goes through the town of Ophir, which is a tiny town that is mainly summer residents. The pass climbs steadily to a respectable 11,789 ft in elevation. This isn't even close to the highest pass in the area (Imogene Pass, a few miles north of Ophir Pass, reaches 13,114). But if I count right on Wikipedia, it is still the 15th highest unimproved pass in Colorado (21st if you include improved roads/paved roads).

The road is fun and isn't too difficult. When you get close to the top the road is narrow making passing oncoming vehicles difficult. Also, if you are traveling east (from the Ophir/Telluride side) you go up the steepest section. This section has a lot of loose rock and 4-low is highly recommended.

Of note, this pass opens in late spring (mid June). According to Peter Massey's book, the snow-plows clear the east end of the road to the pass. This creates a narrow channel in the snow with walls as high as 20 feet in places. I'm thinking next spring I am going to take a look... Update: I went in April of 2015. The walls weren't nearly 20 feet high, but they were at least 10 feet high! Here is the link of my trip in the snow.

Here are the GPX and KML files of our trip.

 I know, it isn't a great picture. It does, however,

show how narrow the road is.

 This is the narrow section right before

you get to the top. It is steeper than it looks. 

 I thought this was a pretty blue lake.