Durango to Montrose

18 wheelers do it almost every day. Just keep an eye on the weather.

Beautiful 2 lane mountain road.....gorgeous views (for passenger) :B

Three mountain passes
Coal Bank Pass (10,640')
Molas Pass (10,970')

Both of those before you get to Silverton which is only 48 miles from Durango

Then Red Mtn. Pass (11,018')

Have done it a couple times (north & south route) towing a 34' 5th wheel.
Summer time..........winter time I stay out of mountain passes

It's the Silverton to Ouray stretch of US550 that generates the most disagreement. Some say it is quite doable, but it frightens others.

Many prefer 145/62 over Lizard Head Pass to the west.

I haven't been on Hwy 550 in many years, did it on a motorcycle once, and then in an Rv, 26 foot 5th wheel. Make sure your brakes are in good order. and there's on grard rails on these types on mountain roads so they can plow the snow off. Beautifull drive.

Here is the sign you will see on the Ouray end, looking south toward Silverton and Durango.


Generally speaking it is a road that allows you one "oops". Yes 18 wheelers do the drive, mostly drivers that this is their route so they are very used to it and most are driving highly modified trucks, auto sanders, automatic chains, etc. However this is not a route that most dispatchers will send their drivers over unless they are headed for Silverton. You will seldom ever see one of the nation wide trucks on this route.

The real problems are not just your driving, but the others that you are sharing the road with, coming from the opposite direction. I worked for the Ouray County Sheriff's Dept as a Deputy and for the county of Ouray as a Deputy Coroner. Red Mountain Pass was a regular patrol location for me so I have been over it latterly hundreds of times. I have made many a trip up the mountain to haul a paniced driver off the mountain, always were men, women didn't seem to have the panic attacks. The car would be stopped, usually directly over the center line, so traffic had to stop from both directions, till we could remove the driver from behind the wheel, and have someone else drive the vehicle down. Often the driver had to be restrained and placed in the back of the patrol car till we got back to Ouray. I had one of these guys tell me if the road north of Ouray was as bad as the road south of town, then he was staying in Ouray the rest of his life. LOL The local physician sedated the man, we put him in the back seat of his car and his wife headed north with him.

For experienced mountain drivers, it is a very doable drive, but don't plan on having much time to eye ball the scenery, let your passengers tell you what it looks like. I usually recommend to flat landers, to try it first in a car, then consider taking your RV over it.

It is easy enough and a beautiful drive, to go west out of Durango to Cortez, then north over Lizard Head Pass, by Telluride, north to Saw Pit, then east to Ridgway and rejoin Hwy 550.

Personally, Hwy 550 south of Ouray, puts me on high alert when driving in the summer and highly anxious in the winter. I always patrolled with an avalanche beacon in the patrol car in the winter as some of this area of Colorado will get up to 75 ft of snow a winter.

Everyone has to do a self survey on their driving ability, which most men seem to think they are way above average as drivers, and make the decision as to whether to take their RV over it.

If as a driver, you are comfortable that you know where your trailer tires are tracking in a turn, or in a motorhome, that you know where your front passenger tire is within a few inches, you will enjoy this drive. In this photo of a right hand turn on Hwy 550 south of Ouray, looks to be about the Engineer Pass turn off area, Ruby Walls just ahead, you have about 3 inches between the white line and the drop off, of several hundred feet. If you meet one of the 18 wheelers, remember their rear tires will be cutting over the center line into your lane while making some of these sharp turns. Whatever you do, don't swerve to miss a head on collision with another vehicle. Head on, you will more than likely survive, swerve and probably not.



I am not trying to alarm anyone, just that some posters try to make this road sound like a stroll in the park, which it is not.

A few weeks back, someone was asking about the clearance on the rock tunnel, just a few miles South of Ouray. Here it is and showing 13" 9" and from the looks of the Class C in the tunnel, that height is available while staying in your lane. The snow shed roof, farther south is about the same, especially the north bound lane.

Joe B - what a great response from someone that has real experience on the road. Taking your advise with the alternate route. (It is easy enough and a beautiful drive, to go west out of Durango to Cortez, then north over Lizard Head Pass, by Telluride, north to Saw Pit, then east to Ridgway and rejoin Hwy 550.)We are going to be in Cortez anyway. Your route will be much safer for me because I am SURE I would not have survived the beating from my wife on the other route. :)

joe b:

After so many posts on this subject, I did a little research on this route few years ago. The pavement on US 550 for the first several miles south of Ouray is actually about a foot wider than it is north of town! I guess people panic because of the cliffs. After all, on a similar road on the flats, how often do these people drive off the road? And one certainly pays more attention to staying on the road in the canyon.

So joe, just curious, how many times did you ever have to cover an accident where an RV had gone over the cliffs on the road above Ouray?

About five years ago, I did a little research on the responses to this question on RV.net. 80% of all respondents and 70% excluding those from Colorado said to take the pass. But as noted, it's all a matter of one's comfort with mountain driving.

Joe B use to live in Ouray, and is quite knowledgeable about that highway in all seasons

We've done it multiple times with our 40' motorhome and Jeep but then, we are very comfortable driving mountain roads and, yes, a big RV or semi will fit through the tunnel.

Hi Frank, FYI, Frank's late father was born in Ouray. He and his wife were very good friends of ours. Two of the very influential people in my life.

Ken, I am sure your 4Runner and tent camper do well on Red Mountain, with you living in Glennwood Springs, about 100 miles NE of Ouray. I am sure you have a lot of mountain driving experience and probably go to the San Juan Mountains to hike. But we are talking about taking large RVs over the Pass, and the care that needs to be exercised, in doing so with them.

Most drivers of large trailers and motorhomes avoid Red Mountain, as do most truckers.

Hwy 550 has made a few of the "most famous" lists in the last few years.

Popular Mechanics placed this section of Hwy 550 south of Ouray at #3 on the most dangerous roads in the USA.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/10-of-americas-most-dangerous-roads#slide-3

USA Today, ranked Hwy 550 as #2 most dangerous. Getting beat out by some road in Bolivia.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2013/10/15/worlds-most-dangerous-roads/2981471/

While I don't personally agree with those rankings, it is a road that deserves the most respect, a driver can give a road, especially in a large vehicle. Actually Hwy 550 doesn't even come close to some of the dangers found on some of the Jeep trails in this area of Colorado. The Jeep trails of the Ouray/Silverton/Telluride areas are the ultimate in an adrenalin rush for those that are adrenalin junkies, like myself. But I have burned into my memory, the bodies that I have taken off of that mountain, from car wrecks, truck wrecks, lightning strikes, etc.

The San Juan Mountains of Colorado, are some of the most beautiful parts of the world, IMHO. But for that beauty, they are very unforgiving at times, if a person gets crossways with mother nature, be it hiking, driving, flying or weather related.