We are planning a trip for early/mid September and will probably camp in the area of Ouray, Colorado I think. There's Ridgway State Park nearby that sounds very nice - showers, which are a must, and plenty of activities in the area. If anyone has a suggestion for other camping close by or knows of Ridgway SP please let me know what you think. Thanks.
Re: Ouray Colorado area campgrounds????? We camped at a campground right in town in Ouray by a river that runs through town. It was ok for for being right in town and walking distance to downtown (all though it should be uptown as it was uphill to walk) and walking distance to the hot springs which was a must each night after jeeping all day. If you get tired of cooking or it rains, they had some nice places to eat also.
Re: Ouray Colorado area campgrounds????? Thanks Jerry & Tina, do you remember the name of the campground? And did it have showers? I talked with someone at the Chamber of Commerce yesterday who was very helpful. She did say the hot springs were a must, too. She is from a suburb of Chicago - she and her husband took an early retirement and moved to CO about 15 years ago and just love it there.
Re: Ouray Colorado area campgrounds????? Ken, this is the campground we stayed at - 4J+1+1 RV Parkhttp://www.ouraycolorado.com/rv4j Make our full-service campground along the Uncompahgre River your home base for the Ouray area. Walk to everything in town. Foot bridge to public hot springs pool. It had nice clean showers and laundry facilities.
Re: Ouray Colorado area campgrounds????? Thanks! It looks like we'll be there during the Jeep Jamboree in September, too.
Re: Ouray Colorado area campgrounds????? Better put in reservations then or it might be hard to find a spot. We have jeeped with the Telluride Jeep Club and with the Mile High Jeep Club in prior years. It is alot of fun and a nice way to see the country. Other times we like to go out by ourselves and just relax and not run so hard & fast, if you can go fast on a jeep trail. It's fun to see all the different jeeps and how decked out they are. (not fancy but with lifts, etc..)
Re: Ouray Colorado area campgrounds????? We'll have to make a point to check that out while we're there. I have found that most campgrounds are not accepting reservations, since we'll be there after Labor Day. They're talking like there won't be a problem finding a site anywhere, so I think we'll make out OK. Thanks.
Re: Ouray Colorado area campgrounds????? Make sure you go to Ridgeway and eat at the True Grit Cafe. It's fab. Make sure you have the bread pudding. Neat place, full of "John Wayne". Great chicken fried steak and wonderful sandwiches, great buffalo burgers too. Ralph Loren's ranch is between Ridgeway and Tehluride beautiful drive and try to get to Silverton while you are there.
Thanks ziacamper... It sounds like you're very familiar with the area. We have had to postpone our trip, and are not sure about going to that area in mid-October due to the possibility of snow. Can you recommend one way or another?
Re: Thanks ziacamper... Mid October you will miss the beautiful color. Possibility of snow between Ouray and Silverton but it should still be warm enough to make it OK. This is a very narrow winding road called Red Mountain Pass, it is usually closed part of the winter due to avalance threat, usually in the spring. Less than 50 miles but will take you at least an hour to make it. The other passes are usually good all year may require some winter tires and 4 wheel drive in December/January. Just watch the weather and look for blizzard conditions, then stay away. While in Ouray see the Box Canyon Falls, pretty spectacular. They have hot springs in Ouray with the largest "goldfish" you will ever see in a pond next to the springs & pool. The Beaumont Hotel is a restored hotel from the 1800-early 1900's ask for a tour. You should be fine any way you want to go as long there is not a bad winter storm watch. Silverton should be rather quiet since the train from Durango should be through running by then so you will have the town to yourself. Rico is a semi-restored mining camp between Telluride and Delores, great graveyard if you are into stones. Delores has a german restaurant that is only open in the evenings Bavarian, I have heard it's great but have never been there when it's open. Mancos is close to Mesa Verde and is a sawmill town, cute downtown. Kennebeck Cafe is the only thing in Hesperus and has great atmosphere and food. The Durango has so much it's hard to pick. From there you can go to Silverton and back to Ouray. We call it the "loop" Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Ridgeway, Telluride, Rico, Mancos, Hesperus,and back to Druango. If youo don't dawdle too much it's a day drive, however it can turn into a 3-5 day trip of you pause. Telluride used to be a neat place but the millionaires have taken over from Aspen and it's really expensive now. Lots of Natl Forrest to camp in if you want that type. Have a good trip and don't let the altitude get to you.
Re: Thanks ziacamper... Thanks for the great info! Unfortunately we have had to push this trip back so far that I don't want to chance the weather in that area. We're now looking at sometime in LATE October due to a couple of weddings & 2 family birthdays. We've just started looking at different areas of the middle of the country where weather might be more predictable. Arkansas came to mind and Hot Springs Nat'l. Park. Not sure yet, but we will be going somewhere. We will be making it to Ouray area though, but it won't happen until next summer at the earliest. You'll likely hear from me again... Thanks
Re: Thanks ziacamper... Ken & Jerry - I just saw this thread and would like to ask a couple of questions and make a comment or two... Ken, Did you ever make that trip? I saw that your posts were in 2010 and you said maybe next summer which is NOW... Jerry, We were in Durango 40 yrs. ago and rode the train, got the book "Cinders & Smoke" and many cinders in our eyes. We'd like to do it again. Did you ride the train and drive? I'm a mountain driver (of sorts - Arkansas mountains aren't really MOUNTAINS compared to Colorado.) Those mountain passes can get hairy and scary - if you drove what areas are um...."interesting"? I might want to avoid them. We want to go to Colorado but can't decide yet...Thanks!
Bill & Linda... We made it out to the Ouray, Colorado area this year in early June. We left Chicago on Memorial Day weekend and spent a week in New Mexico in the mountains just outside Santa Fe. A beautiful area! We then spent a week in Ridgway State Park in Ridgway, Colorado. Another great campground. The town of Ouray is about 10 miles south on 550, and is surrounded by several 14,000' peaks - absolutely gorgeous. We arrived in Colorado by taking 550 north, through Durango and Silverton, on to Ouray and finishing in Ridgway. A stunning ride, full of hairpins and no guard rails. We did not do the Durango/Silverton train, which looked very cool. There is great hiking all over the area. And Ridgway State Park is very nice, with a couple of campgrounds that have nice facilities. I did post about the trip here somewhere... It's a beautiful area that I recommend you get back to!
We used to live in Hot Springs! Lake Ouchita SP is beautiful and the whole state is that time of year! Enjoy! We might actually be there ourselves in Sept. and then on to Necedah for the Camp Inn Camp Outt!
If you decide to take the train out of Durango to Silverton, I would suggest that you spend the night in Silverton and then head back to Durango the next day. Sitting on the train for 7 to 8 hours can be a bit tiring although the scenery is fantastic. If you are really adventurous take a backpack and have the conductor let you off in the wilderness, two or three days later just flag down the train and they will pick you up. It is a real experience and if you are into fishing you will think you died and went to heaven. There are a couple of great little hotels in Silverton as well as B&Bs that are a lot of fun. Silverton is a great little walking town with interesting one of a kind shops. Winter weather can occur at any time, We woke up to a foot of snow once on the 4th of July up in that area so take a jacket.
