In Colorado, you can pretty much drive in any direction and find something new, beautiful, and different. We had heard about the “Switzerland of America” tucked down in the southwest portion of the state. So we decided to go from Denver to Ouray for an incredible road trip that allowed us to explore Colorado!
First off, we had to figure out how to pronounce it. The proper pronunciation is “yur-ay” or “yir-ay.” The wrong ways to say it (and how we said it) are: “you-ray,” “oo-ray,” and “our-ray.” Apparently it rhymes with “hooray,” but it all depends on how you say that one too, because I can make it rhyme with the wrong pronunciations too. So, I don’t know.
“Switzerland of America”
Ouray gets this claim due to it being situated high up in the San Juan mountain range (7,792 feet), and nestled between sharp, jagged peaks and waterfalls. The city was incorporated in 1876, so it has a lot of history.
Ouray also gets the tag of “The Outdoor Recreation Capital of Colorado.” When you think of all the outdoorsy things to do in Colorado and all the amazing places, that is quite a statement.
Denver to Ouray
Without traffic, you’re looking at a 5 to 5.5 hour drive. So, it’s not exactly close.
We left Friday after work, around 7-730pm. Our goal was to get past Grand Junction to an area of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land that we could car camp on. It was just under a 4 hour drive to find our home for the night.
It made for a long drive after work, but we wanted to be closer and have a shorter drive in the morning to our hike. If you want to see how we car camp, check out our blog on it here. Or if you are curious about how we find our places to car camp, look here.
In the morning, we woke up early to finish off the rest of the drive. But, we were not heading straight into Ouray. Instead, we were heading over towards Telluride to Blue Lakes Trailhead.
Blue Lakes Trail
This hike is absolutely unreal! It is seriously one of the most beautiful places we have been. It is a very popular hike and area, so we wanted to try to get there early enough to get a parking spot. The road to the trailhead is BUMPY! We did fine in our Hyundai Tucson, and we even saw some sedans that were able to make it. Just take it slow and pick your lines wisely, and you should be alright.
One of our favorite things about Colorado, is how dog-friendly it is. This hike was no outlier, dogs on leash are allowed to come explore with you.
There are 3 Blue Lakes (lower, middle, and upper). Lower Blue Lake (pictured above) is the main attraction, and is just stunning. There is a campground that is first come, first served by the lower lake. It can be busy on weekends, but there seems to be a lot of sites to choose from. We definitely want to camp there and hike the 14er Mt. Sneffels that is close by.
Our Hike Stats (tracked with Garmin Fenix 6):
- Distance ~9.5 miles
- Elevation Gain: 2,645 feet
This hike is definitely in the top tier of hikes we did in our time in Colorado. The combination of beauty, challenge, and dog-friendliness was perfect for us. Highly recommend this hike if you are making your way out into the San Juans.
Ouray, finally…
With our drive, a decently long hike with time spent at the lakes, and then another 50 minutes or so to town, we were definitely ready to be in Ouray!
We made it into town for lunch, and our first stop was for food and beer because we were starving! It is hard to beat a good burger after a long hike, so we found Maggie’s Kitchen and Ourayle House Brewery that were right by each other. Maggie’s Kitchen is popular, so there was a bit of a line and wait. But, we had some cold beer, so we managed. The burger was fantastic, and we were able to find a nice spot on the patio in the shade with Kirby.
Uncompahgre River
After stuffing our faces with burgers and beer, we were kind of ready for a nap (or at least to relax). We made our way down to Uncompahgre River for a quick nap, and even a little rinse in the water. It was a perfect spot to relax a bit, clean ourselves up, and change into (slightly) nicer clothes to explore the town more.
Ouray Brewery
Shockingly, this brewery was on our list to stop by and check out. They have an awesome rooftop patio and we scored a couple seats right on the railing with an epic view.
The beer was good and the views and vibes were even better. Definitely recommend checking this place out. They have food too, but we did not eat here. We ate somewhere else for dinner, and it was not all that great.
Car Camping on The Million Dollar Highway
The Million Dollar Highway is one of the more famous stretches of road around. Allegedly, it cost $1 million dollars per mile to construct this beautifully scenic and dangerous road. It is known for its difficulty and danger with driving due to its winding nature and lack of guard rails.
We did not experience the whole highway, but what we saw was quite beautiful. This is also where we got to see the “Switzerland of America” sign. To find a spot to car camp, we used iOverlander and found a spot about 20 minutes outside of town. It was a nice little spot, with a few others camping as well. Going back, we would ventured further away from the highway to find a more secluded spot, but it worked out great regardless.
The best part was that it was FREE. Ouray is not the cheapest place to stay, so it was great to be able to save a few bucks by car camping.
Ouray Perimeter Trail, Box Canyon, & Cascade Falls
The Ouray Perimeter Trail is a well-known and popular trail that takes you (you guessed it) around the perimeter of Ouray. We did not have time to do the whole thing, so we focused on 2 parts of it, Box Canyon and Cascade Falls.
Our first stop was to get some breakfast. I cannot remember the name of the place, and cannot find it on Google Maps. So it may have closed down, which is a shame because I remember it being pretty tasty.
Next, we made our way over to Box Canyon Falls Park. It is $7 per adult to get in from here. Not sure if it is free if you start the perimeter trail from somewhere else and make your way up here. But, it felt like it was worth $7 for us.
You can climb up a few hundred feet to get to the perimeter trail and to the metal bridge that goes over the slot canyon. It provides an awesome view of Ouray. We were there fairly early, so we did not have to worry about many other people.
There is also a trail/walkway that can take you into the slot canyon to see the waterfall as it comes down through the canyon (pictured below on left). You can take a few different routes in there, just be careful if you go down the stairs towards the water.
Our last stop was on the opposite side of town at Cascade Falls (pictured above right). It is a short hike up to the falls, and it is quite nice. The waterfall is pretty, and there is even a little ledge/trail that you can walk behind the waterfall. Definitely worth checking out as part of the perimeter trail or even on its own.
Ouray to Denver
After Cascade Falls, we started the long journey back home to Denver. We ended up taking a different route back to Denver, which was nice to see different parts of Colorado. The route we took back was along highway 50, which is the highway that you take to get into Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. This route also gave us some new views of a few of the 14ers, especially the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Range.
It was a very long 5.5 hour drive back home, but it was so worth it to be able to check out Ouray on a weekend trip.
Reach out to us if you have any questions, and follow us on Instagram @acoupleoftravelingpts.
*Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, we will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
Leave a Comment