BEST
WILD
WILD
hiking and camping ouray
ADVENTURE TOURS
Copyright 2016. Doug Heath. All rights reserved
Visit this GOOGLE interactive link for maps, pictures, and satellite view of Ouray and surrounding area.
Established in the late 1870s during gold and silver strikes, Ouray survivedthose boom-and-bust daysbecause it's such a wonderful place to relax. Natural hot springs feed the Ouray Town Pool, where both locals and visitors come to soak inthe therapeutic waters. It's said that Chief Ouray, the Ute Indian after whom the town is named, visited the pool often and held ceremonies in the local vapor cave.
Several waterfalls make for spectacular photos, and a popular activity for visitors is to take a short hike up to Box Canyon Falls, where the water cascades285 feet from top to basin. The town's canyons, in fact, provide the location for one of the most popular winter events: ice climbing. Each January, Ouray proudly hosts the Ouray Ice Festival at the Ouray Ice Park, which features the easy access climbers relish.
Surrounded by deciduous trees such as quaking aspen and evergreens scrub oaks, the town also becomes a spectacularly colored canvas each autumn, drawing visitors who want a closer look at the brilliant foliage. The scenery, the sky-scraping San Juan Mountain peaks and a network of old mining routes are reasons the town is popular with off-roaders, Jeep tours and other backcountry lovers. The San Juan Skyway Scenic & Historic Byway is another popular way to see the area.
Where the pavement ends and the Best begins
Ouray 4X4 Map: