Old Lime Creek Road (Rating 2)

 Rating: 2

This is an easy road and 4wd is not required. The road can be rocky at times that prevent a typical passenger car, but a slightly higher clearance vehicle should have no problems.

Location: near Purgatory Ski Resort

Trailhead:

The southern end of the road is at 37°39'30.4"N 107°48'33.5"W (37.658446, -107.809294). This is located 2.4 miles north of the Purgatory Entrance on Highway 550. 

The northern end is at 37°43'15.9"N 107°45'00.8"W (37.721091, -107.750212). This is located 5.9 miles south of the Molas Lake Campground turnoff on Highway 550.

Description:

Old Lime Creek Road is a short road that parallels highway 550. It is located between Purgatory and Silverton. This is a great alternative to the pavement when you are travelling along 550.

This isn't a "destination" type road, meaning I don't recommend coming down to the area to just do this road. Old Lime Creek Road, however, is a perfect addition when you are already in the area. People often do this road when they are exploring other roads in the area. We did this road the same day we did Bolam Pass. 

Old Lime Creek Road follows a slightly different route than 550. Along the southern portion of the road you go through trees and along ponds that are often covered with lily pads. The northern part of the road is a narrow shelf road with great views. There are places where the shelf road is narrow enough that passing isn't possible. When you are in the shelf road area, remember where the closest wide spot is located. You may have to back up to the nearest pullout to allow the oncoming vehicle to pass.

One of the fun parts of the road is that this used to be the main highway between Durango and Silverton, before the current road was built. There are sections of the shelf road that have the man-made stone walls as a barrier between drivers and the cliff.

Here are the GPX and KML files.