Yankee Boy Basin

Rating: 3-4
This is a fairly easy trail, but it does increase in difficulty as you go higher.  The road surface is similar to the nearby Imogene Pass, but Yankee Boy doesn't have the loose ledges seen on Imogene.

Location
Ouray, CO

Trailhead
This has the same beginning as Imogene Pass.  It is located along the first hairpin turn. If you are heading in the southern direction, the road is to your right. There is a large, wooden sign on the left that says "Box Canyon Falls" and has an arrow pointing to the right. This is the road you need to take. GPS coordinates of the turnoff are 38.017649, -107.674578.

Description
This beginning of Imogene Pass and Yankee Boy Basin share the same road. 4.7 miles after you leave the highway, there is an intersection. To the left is Imogene Pass, and to the right is Yankee Boy Basin.

This is a short trip, about 8-9 miles one way and most of the road is fairly fast. The beginning is a well maintained gravel road, but as you increase in elevation the road is less maintained. There is nothing technical about this road, and it is appropriate for beginners. The road is wide in most areas and there is typically plenty of room to pass oncoming vehicles.

This is a great road if you only have a short time in Ouray and you want to get off of the pavement. Remember, this is an "out-and-back" style and so you will return the same way.

I apologize, I cannot find my pictures of Yankee Boy Basin, but I will look on my other computer and see if I took them with my camera instead of my phone.

Here is a map and google generated KML file.

Imogene Pass

Rating: 4-5
This is a road that definitely requires 4-wheel drive and low range. There are a few short climbs or descents that are loose shale and have a few steps. There are areas where you can take a more difficult line which gives it a rating as high as 5. If you avoid the more difficult paths, the rating drops to a 4.

A stock wrangler should have no issues completing this trail, however smaller vehicles may have difficulty.

Location
Between Telluride and Ouray Colorado

Trailhead
The Ouray side is located as you are leaving Ouray to the south on highway 550. It is located along the first hairpin turn. If you are heading in the southern direction, the road is to your right. There is a large, wooden sign on the left that says "Box Canyon Falls" and has an arrow pointing to the right. This is the road you need to take. GPS coordinates of the turnoff are 38.017649, -107.674578.

The Telluride side starts from the north-end of Telluride. When you are diving down the main road through telluride, turn left onto Aspen St, then right onto Galena Ave, the left onto Oak St. Oak turns into the road for Imogene Pass. The coordinates of the beginning of the road are 37.940089, -107.811790.

Description
This road is often combined with Black Bear Pass to make a loop. If you are planning on doing the loop, remember that Black Bear Pass is one-way from Ouray to Telluride. Although people are more intimidated by Black Bear due to the tight and narrow switchbacks, I personally feel this trail is a little more technical.

This is a road that connects Telluride and Ouray, CO. This is a popular, well traveled road and is usually busy even during the week. The views are spectacular the entire length of the trail.

If you are starting from the Ouray side, there is a left turn you have to make. Follow the main road for about 4.7 miles after you leave highway 550. There is a well traveled left turn at this intersection, which is the Imogene Pass road. If you continue straight (right), it will take you up Yankee Boy Basin. This intersection is obvious when travelling from Telluride, just continue straight downhill.

One of the highlights of the trail is the Tomboy Mine and ghost town. The elements have been hard on the area and there aren't many standing structures, but the remnants are still present and you can get a sense of how large the area was. The mining town of Tomboy was large, and even had a YMCA and tennis courts! The nearby mine started producing gold in 1894 and was sold in 1897 for $2 million! Main operations of the mine continued until 1928.

There are a few loose climbs (or descents depending on the direction) on the Telluride side, but there are easy routes. There are also a few loose areas with ledges on the Ouray side which can be a little more difficult depending on recent traffic and weather.

This trail often does not open until about the 4th of July. Even that early, they still have to bring in bulldozers to clear out the snow in the big drifts.

Here is the KML and map of the trail. The KML file was lost from my GPS (phone died) so this file was created using Google Maps.

 This is a picture of the switchbacks on Black Bear Pass.

 This is in the area of the Tomboy Mine and Ghost Town. 

 This picture and following pictures of this loose climb were the hardest part of the day.

You can see the bypass in the background of the next picture. 

 This was taken on July 5th, days after they opened the trail to traffic.

You can see how they had to bulldoze through the snowdrift. 

A measly 13,114 ft...

This little ledge wasn't too difficult, but I have seen a rollover

here due to the loose shale causing the vehicle to slide sideways.

Don't forget to wear your seatbelts! 

Black Bear Pass

Rating: 4
This trail is not difficult from a technical standpoint. There are a few loose ledges that can be hairy if you take a bad line (another 4Runner slid and it rolled onto its side earlier that day), but if you go slow and carefully it isn't bad.

Location:
This is located between the summit of Red Mountain Pass and Telluride.

Trailhead
This trail is ONE WAY and the beginning is located near the summit of Red Mountain Pass (highway 550). The road is located 0.2 miles to the south of the sign marking the summit. The road is to the west. Coordinates are 37.896734, -107.713392. Once you are on the dirt road, it is well marked and there at any intersection directing you to Black Bear Pass.

Description
This road is often combined with Imogene Pass to make a loop. If you are planning on doing the loop, remember that Black Bear Pass is one-way from Ouray to Telluride.

This road has a reputation for being dangerous. The switchbacks are narrow and on a steep slope. Although the road isn't steep, the slope of the hill is steep enough that the switch backs are narrow and a few of them require at least a 3-point turn. It is recommended that you check your brakes before attempting this road. This road is NOT for the fainthearted or the novice off-roader.

The switchbacks are so narrow that it is impossible to pass an oncoming vehicle. For this reason, the road is ONE WAY at the switchbacks and you can only travel in the downhill direction. You must start from the east side and travel toward Telluride. The bottom of the switchbacks are wider and there is two-way traffic up to the Bridal Veil Falls.

Most of the road is a simple road that isn't difficult. There are a few short climbs that are a little loose, but there is nothing technical for most of the trail. The hardest part of the road is immediately before the switchbacks. These are a series of small ledges that are off camber. The ledges are not perpendicular to the road. In addition to being off camber, the ledges are also a loose shale and it is easy to slide. I didn't think it was too bad, but earlier in the day another 4Runner had rolled onto its side. I assume it wasn't a great line and it was made worse from sliding on the loose surface. I ended up going down the small ledge more perpendicular and it wasn't even exciting.

After the first series of ledges, the road narrows. The surface is loose at this location and there are a few more small ledges. Make sure you have a good line and go slow. Don't be afraid to use a spotter to watch your line because the road is fairly narrow.

Once you complete the ledges, the rest of the road is easy. Although the switchbacks are easy and there is nothing technical, they do have a strong pucker factor. The road is narrow so there is no room for error. Make sure you know your line and the location of your tires. Don't get too close to the edge OR the inner side of the road. There is a youtube video of somebody who went up the inner wall and rolled down part of the hill (they were unharmed, the Jeep was much worse).

A few of the switchbacks are so tight that you have to do a 3-point turn. I was worried about this part, but it isn't steep and I never felt out of control.

Once you go down the narrow section, the road widens and two-way traffic begins. This is the location of the Bridal Veil Falls and Power Plant. These falls are gorgeous and can be seen from Telluride.

Here is the KML and map of the trail.

We had just put a 2" lift and 33" tires on the 4Runner a week before. 

We did Black Bear to try them out.  

 As you can see, most of the road is simple and not technical.

 What a great sign

 This is the beginning of what a lot of people call "The Ledges." It isn't very difficult, but it is a little off camber and the loose shale makes it a little more interesting. A good line and careful driving should keep you safe. This is where another 4Runner rolled onto it's said earlier in the day.

 This picture is very misleading. This was actually very narrow and the slope to the passenger side is very steep. This picture really flattened things out. Telluride is thousands of feet below and it is a steep hill. This picture is taken near the small waterfall at the top left of the next picture. 

This shows the switchbacks nicely. This is taken from the Imogene Pass road.

This is Bridal Veil Falls and power plant. 

This is Bridal Veil Falls. It is 365 feet high.

Mill Creek and Nipple Mountain Road

Rating: 1-3
The main road is a well maintained, gravel road. This main road is rated a 1. There are side roads that aren't as maintained and had some mud, these required 4-low, which is the reason for the 3 rating. These were not technical, but there were a few rocks and a few mud puddles that gives it the rating.

Location
Pagosa Springs, CO

Trailhead
This is located just east of Pagosa Springs. The road takes off from highway 84 and heads to the east. The road starts 0.2 miles south of the intersection between highways 84 and 160. GPS coordinates are 37.266240, -106.991989.

Description
This is an easy road that goes through many Aspen Groves in the mountains just outside of Pagosa Springs. We went on October 14 this year, and there were still a lot of color in the leaves but it looked like we were about a week after the peak season for leaves. It was still a pretty drive and we enjoyed it.

Here is the KML and map. I apologize for the poor tracing near the beginning, my GPS didn't record for a bit so there is an ugly straight line. Since this is an out-and-back type road, at least the track is correct in one direction.

Yankee Girl Mine

Rating: 2
This is an easy trail that doesn't require 4-wheel drive but a little clearance is nice.

Location
San Juan Mountains, near Red Mountain Pass.

Trailhead
This trail is to the east of and parallels the Million Dollar Highway (highway 550). The south end of the trail begins near the summit of the Red Mountain Pass. The road starts at the top and is located 0.3 miles north of the sign marking summit. Coordinates are 37.903221, -107.709513.

The north end of the trail is located on one of the many hairpin turns about 2.9 miles north of the summit or 3.7 miles south of Crystal Lake. The coordinates are 37.921903, -107.698537.

This is county road 31.

Description
This is an easy, fairly well maintained road. I did not use 4-wheel drive in my 4Runner. The road is short, and is a nice way to get off the pavement while driving across the Red Mountain Pass. There are mutliple mines and mining buildings in the area. If you don't stop to explore the mines, I would guess this would only take about 30 minutes to drive.

The gem of this trail is the Yankee Girl Mine. This was a productive Silver and Gold Mine. What makes this mine unique is that the opening is a verticle shaft with a hoist house above the shaft. The shaft is still there within the hoist house, but they have placed a metal grate across the opening. The hoist house is still in decent condition and you can get out an explore the building.

Here is the KML and map of the trip. At the time of writing this, Google Maps did not have county road 31 connecting back into the pavement at the summit of Red Mountain Pass, which is incorrect. The road does connect and is even labeled at that end.

 The metal grate that she is standing on is covering the vertical shaft.