Colorado Highways

stargirl96 wrote:
We plan to vacation in Colorado next month and need advice on mountain roads. We are planning to go to Gunnison, Ouray, Silverton, and other locations. We will be driving a 30' class C motorhome with a Ford E-450 engine. Would welcome advice on highways to take (or not take). We have vacationed in Colorado before, but in a sedan not a motorhome. Thanks in advance for your help.

Will you have a toad/towed with you? Could make a difference in responses, particularly in travelling from Ouray to Silverton on US 550. Also if you can indicate what other locations.

ETA: I'm not suggesting that a towed vehicle will cause any problems. I'm suggesting that, if they have a towed vehicle, they could use THAT VEHICLE to explore the area.

The road from Ouray to Silverton has a high pucker factor, but I've often seen gasoline tankers on that section of the highway.
As noted in another thread, there's a large fire between Silverton and Durango which has restricted travel south of Silverton on US 550. The fire has closed the San Juan National Forest to all activities.

The latest info is here:
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5822/

Miss parts of beautiful Colorado because you might need to drive slowly and carefully? Not me. Not ever. No way.

There are 8 fires currently burning in Colorado and several are in the southwestern part of the state. And the smoke is as big a problem for drivers in that region as the actual fires. So, you may want to pick your route and campgrounds carefully and closely follow the latest fire watches and closures just before, and during, your trip.

With a 30' Class C, you can drive most, if not all paved highways in Colorado. When you add a toad, then that will make a difference. But still most are doable.

Anywhere that Class C will go that towed will follow.

Mountain Directory

We find this very helpful.

Rob

I've seen semi's and diesel pushers on the 550 with no ill effects. How good a driver are you?

When I was there last month, 550 was closed for wildfires as were a few other routes. Unfortunately, it's already been a very bad fire season in Colorado. So do check on the road status often.

I would suggest too, that, if you live in a low elevation area, that you gradually acclimatize on your way to Colorado but that should be easy if you're going via New Mexico.

If you go through Colorado Springs I highly recommend Cheyenne Mountain State Park--beautiful park with great views and excellent facilities.

We will be pulling a CRV as our toad. We have thought of unhitching the CRV and driving them separately on some of the steeper highways.