Ouray
A Silver Mining Town Of About A Thousand People At 7,792 Feet, Boxed In On Three Sides By Peaks Above 13,000 Feet And Nicknamed The Switzerland Of America. The Whole Downtown Is A National Historic District, And The Ouray Ice Park Was The First Public Ice Climbing Park In The World. · Ouray, Colorado
Ouray sits in a box canyon at 7,792 feet with peaks over thirteen thousand feet on three sides of it, close enough that in midwinter the sun clears the ridge late and leaves early. A thousand people live there. The whole downtown is a National Historic District of 1880s brick and false fronts, built on silver and saved by the fact that nobody ever had a reason to knock it down. The town is named for Chief Ouray of the Uncompahgre Ute, who negotiated with Washington for years and whose people were removed from this country anyway. What it is known for now is water in two states: a large hot springs pool at the north end, and the Ice Park in the gorge below the town, where farmers' pipes spray the canyon walls all winter to grow ice for climbers - the first public ice park in the world, and free to climb. The other thing it is known for is the road south, the Million Dollar Highway, which leaves town and climbs toward Silverton with no guardrails and a great deal of air on one side.
Main Street, Ouray, Colorado, 81427, United States
A year-round town, though a small one - some restaurants and shops close midweek or for several weeks in the deep shoulder seasons of April-May and November. The Ouray Ice Park runs roughly from late December to March depending on cold, and is FREE to climb. The Ouray Hot Springs Pool is open daily year-round. THE MILLION DOLLAR HIGHWAY south to Silverton stays open in winter but carries chain laws and closes for avalanche control. The high jeep roads to Yankee Boy Basin and over Imogene and Black Bear passes are summer-only and need a suitable vehicle.