We will be spending time this summer in Ouray at the KOA. Not sure just yet how much time as we don't have the summer plans in place as of yet. My wife grew up in the Springs/Woodland Park area of Colorado, but I came there as an adult, after we were married. We lived in Ouray for about 10 years. Telluride has always been a yuppie place to me, but to my wife who first visited Telluride as a child in the 50s, it has undergone great changes.
I have worked private personal security in the Telluride area and they have some interesting folks that hang out there, especially in the winte ski season.
Living there is totally out of my pay grade.
We vary where we stay when back for the summers to Ouray. Have stayed at the 4J campground in town, at Timber Ridge Cg on the north side of town (has sold and the name has changed), at the KOA north of Ouray a few miles and at Ridgway State Park. Most long term stays we use Montrose, 35 miles north. Rates are about half of staying in Ouray. Last summer we spent a week at the Grand Junction KOA, then a week at Ridgway SP, then a week at Ouray KOA and then a month at Montrose KOA (formerly Montrose RV Resort, still with the same owner and excellent place to stay)
Others have mentioned what to do in the Ouray area, the Fourth of July is special there as well. Fun to watch a town with a winter population of about 600, swell to over 10,000 on the 4th. As a gift shop owner in Ouray, we loved it. The mountains, the gold/silver rush history is what this part of the state is all about. Great lakes, rivers and streams, hot springs, spectacular peaks, the mountain Jeep trails, etc. I have been working on my Jeep getting it ready to tow it to Colorado. May just drop it off at a friend's in Ouray, while we go on north to Montana, perhaps Canada and maybe Alaska for some time. Then run the trails on the way home before the snow flys. LOL
As far as a route, I much prefer Monarch Pass on Hwy 50 to cross the Rocky Mts. Route 285 out of Denver works to get me out of there as well. Even though I enjoy the Glennwood Canyon area of Interstate 70, we tend to avoid that route most of the time. Coming from the east, we normally cut south west at Limon Colorado to the Springs area, then west of Hwy 24 to meet up with hwy 50 and west to Montrose and south to Ouray. If coming from the south, we head west at Pueblo on Hwy 50 to Montrose.
The home made fudge available at the Monarch Crest Gift shop is worth going that route just for the candy. The tram ride there on top of the pass is something our grandsons still talk about as they went with us last summer.
