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!