Out n' About
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Ophir is an old mining town from the late 1800s and today is a living ghost town. I followed the trail up Hall Canyon and was treated to lovely autumn colors.
GPS is not the exact spot of the shot.
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As fall arrives, I can't help but think of Colorado and its great scenes along Highway 145. Itching to get back.
Ophir Pass is an easy road with nice views. It still requires 4wd vehicle on the west side, but the east side is really smooth.
I had a special reason for doing this road this year, and I will be posting that picture after the next one I post.
On our third day of exploring, we took off out of Silverton to Ophir Pass. The day started off pretty gloomy with this sky, but I loved the look it gave us. The pass tops out right about 12,000 feet at this point. The air gets pretty thin up here and I tried not to do any climbing off the main road.
This pass has been used from the 1800s by traders traveling to Ophir, which is still a small mountain town today. It was upgraded for vehicle travel in the 1950s and is used as a recreational trail today. The trail was easy to drive up to the pass from Silverton. The downhill drive to Ophir was steeper and more challenging. We used low gear a lot on the way down. I wouldn't want to try this with a two-wheel drive vehicle. This is a great day trip out of Silverton.
This morning, we took off out of Silverton and went up to Ophir Pass. The trail was pretty smooth, and I used two-wheel drive most of the way up to the pass. On the way down, we had to use low gear because it was steep and very rough going. The views in both directions were pretty spectacular. We had a moody sky and a little bit of rain, but that made for a more dramatic sky. The only bad part on the trip was the last leg of the trail was closed to the lakes we were going to fish at. Oh well, maybe next time.
The view from the Ophir Pass Road in Colorado. The road is not for the faint of heart or a vehicle without a low range. Going up is not the problem but rather coming down. By the way scouting the road on foot at almost 12,000 feet is not for people that live at sea level.
Is normally a very easy road. This year there were some slides that caused a huge amount scree rock to be across the road in several places. First time I had experienced this in the over 20 years I have driven this road.
Ophir Pass is one of the easiest roads I drive in the San Juans, but it has some great views. Straight down the valley is the town of Ophir.
After taking the pass and enjoying the curved aspens we popped into the small town of Ophir and the colors were just gorgeous!
After descending Ophir Pass, you approach the remote villa of Ophir nestled in the valley. Pass through quietly.
Mystic falls Colorado
This gem of a hike features one of the most beautiful, lesser-known waterfalls in Colorado. Because this is such an under the radar spot, it really feels like you're on an adventure.
I've been visiting Telluride, CO for the last 7 years, and I'd never once heard of this place. Mystic Falls is not marked on any map I've ever seen. And even some locals seem to have never heard of it. So I feel like I lucked out on this last trip to Telluride , hidden waterfall within 20 minutes of the town of Telluride. The hike is short, but relatively technical. The drive can be a little hairy at times too.
After taking the pass and enjoying the curved aspens we popped into the small town of Ophir and the colors were just gorgeous!
I had a great time on my first drive on the Ophir Pass Road between Silverton and Telluride. Great scenery, with autumn leaves just beginning to turn, and an adventurous 4WD road that was exciting but not really challenging (rocky shelf road on steep cliff). Both sides of the pass were really awesome. This is the east side near US-550 on the ascent.
This drive is #7 in "Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails" by Wells & Peterson, rated moderate.
After taking the pass and enjoying the curved aspens we popped into the small town of Ophir and the colors were just gorgeous!
This Ophir Pass Road on the west side just below the top of the pass.
For you that haven't done these type of roads, this is a very easy section of the road.
After traversing the rockiest part of the Ophir Pass shelf road, the trail smooths out on the way down to the small town of Ophir, Colorado. This is one frame from a GoPro video of the drive. The route is a scenic shortcut between Silverton and Telluride.
#7 in Wells & Peterson Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails; rated moderate.