This small town is surrounded by mountains, so it doesn’t have room for a ski resort. Because of this, Ouray (pronounced “yur-ray”) maintains its charm despite its gorgeous surroundings that would otherwise lead to droves of rich tourists. That doesn’t mean it’s cheap, however, since it’s quite remote and fairly far from interstates. It’s a must-visit if you want more mountains in your life (which, obviously).

Ouray

The Million Dollar Highway

So nicknamed because it’s rumored to have cost $1 million per mile of road, the incredible drive up US Route 550 also boasts million dollar views! The day we drove up from Durango, it snowed much of the afternoon. My friend, Amber, joined me as we caught the road just after the snow melted on the roads, but decorated the scenery. She took these photos below.

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Not for the faint-of-heart, this drive has hairpin turns, cliff edges, and steep inclines/declines. I had to distract Amber with picture-taking so she wouldn’t worry about the cliff edges we drove across. I recommend stopping on the shoulders (when available) to take photos of the incredible views!

Hiking around Ouray

And I mean literally. There’s a 5.5-mile loop called the Ouray Perimeter Trail which takes you from downtown to a large, and often steep, circuit of the entire town, stopping at nearby landmarks.

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Amber, Kim, and I started this hike just after work, and it took us several hours, so we did the last quarter in pretty much darkness. The darkness part was silly, but we still really enjoyed our time through the mountains!

Downtown Ouray

In the interest of saving money and reducing exposure, I didn’t spend much time in Ouray’s wonderful restaurants, but I did splurge on dinner at Ouray Brewery. Great beer and my dinner of nachos was delicious! There’s also so many of shops and historic buildings along the adorable Main Street that were really fun to explore. I personally recommend the chocolate shop!

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I can’t recommend Ouray enough. If you’ve got the time and ability to get there, you’re sure to find beauty everywhere you turn.

Telluride

Amber and I took a day off to explore Telluride. Just an hour from Ouray, it’s a famously expensive ski town in Colorado, but has some really great things about it as well.

The most important thing to do is to take the gondola. Considered the first free public transportation in the United States, the gondola annually moves close to 3 million people from Telluride to the Mountain Village.

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At the top, you’ve arrived in the Mountain Village. We had a fantastic lunch there, then fantastic cocktails at the Telluride Distilling Company before rushing back down the mountain as our parking meter ran out!

Cornet Creek Falls Hike

This hike starts at the edge of town and is supposedly short, but is so steep it just rips the breath from your body. Already quite used to alpine hiking after a week of long, arduous hikes, Amber and I still thought this 0.6 mile trek was tough. Plenty of time to catch our breath at the top, though, and the 80 ft waterfall was amazing.

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Telluride The Town

Main Street is lined with shops and restaurants (and realtors selling terrifyingly expensive homes). We enjoyed the farmer’s market we caught on our way to the Gondola, then stopped at the Telluride Brewery location just outside of town for scenic beers outside.

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Both of these mountain towns were so cute and delightful. The weather was great for our trip, and I can’t wait to find my way back there someday!