Gunnison to Ouray to Durango CO
Considering traveling through this area, towing my 30' fifth. My edition of "The Mountain Directory" makes it sound a bit tough to navigate. While not very experienced in mountain driving, I've done...
Forum Discussion
Flapper wrote:
Thanks to all for the information! While I'm not terrified of mountain driving, I think it may be a better plan to take an alternative route to Durango, stay there a few days, and drive the Million Dollar Highway in just the tow vehicle.
Smart move. One thing that is seldom mentioned in the nearly weekly discussions about this drive is that there are actually 3 passes one has to go over. Heading from Ouray to Silverton to Durango, the first pass is Red Mountain Pass, and that's the one that, in this direction is a shelf road for a goodly way to the top, with drop offs in the hundreds of feet.
The next two passes, Molas and Coal Bank, aren't as difficult, and most of the way headed south you are on inside/mountain side of the road. However, there is a shelf road portion on the northbound side, and that's where you'll get a lot of white knuckle drivers, in a variety of vehicles, who never ever come to forums such as this, and will be crowding the center stripe big time.
Something you can do (anyone can, who seeks advice on this roadway), is go to YouTube and input "Million Dollar Highway" or "US 550" and you can see some impressive vids showing the drive in real time, from various perspectives. Doing it in a toad is more enjoyable for all, particularly the driver, IMHO.
