San Juan Skyway
A National Scenic Byway And One Of The Few Designated All American Roads A 236 Mile Loop Through The San Juan Mountains Linking Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Ridgway, Telluride, Dolores And Cortez. Includes The Million Dollar Highway. · Durango, Colorado
Two hundred and thirty-six miles around the San Juan Mountains, linking mining towns that silver built and tourism saved, over three passes above ten thousand feet and through some of the most concentrated mountain scenery in the United States. The stretch everyone talks about is the twenty-five miles of US 550 between Silverton and Ouray - the Million Dollar Highway - which has no guardrail for long sections, drops several hundred feet off the outside edge, and is cut into the cliff above the Uncompahgre Gorge. It is an All-American Road, which is the highest designation the federal scenic byway programme gives. Done as a loop it is a full day of driving without stopping and is far better as two, with a night in Ouray or Telluride. In winter the passes stay open but carry chain laws and avalanche closures, and the Million Dollar Highway in snow is a drive for confident mountain drivers only.
US 550, Colorado 145, 62 and 145 - the San Juan loop, Durango, Colorado, United States
A public highway, open year-round and free, but that is not the whole answer. The passes - Coal Bank, Molas and Red Mountain - are kept open in winter and are genuinely difficult in snow, with chain laws and closures for avalanche control. THE MILLION DOLLAR HIGHWAY IN WINTER IS NOT A CASUAL DRIVE. Late September and early October are the peak weeks for colour and traffic. Services in the smaller towns thin considerably out of season.