Silverton, Colorado.

Part of U.S. 550 comprises a section of the San Juan Skyway Colorado Scenic Byway. On our July trip to Colorado last year, the lodge we stayed at is on that highway between Durango and Silverton. There is scenery aplenty along the highway no matter where to take it, but stop at Silverton for a short break and then continue north toward the small community of Ouray.

That section of highway, expensive and difficult to build, was purported to cost a million dollars a mile to complete. The opening image features one of the views of the scenery as the highway snakes its way through the San Juan Mountains.

There is some controversy about the length of the “Million Dollar Highway”, some counting the 75 miles (120 km) from Durango to Ouray, others counting the entire 190-mile (306 km) stretch from the New Mexico border to Montrose CO. Others avoid the controversy by calling the entire 236-mile (380 km) stretch the San Juan Scenic Skyway.

To avoid the controversy of the true length of the Million Dollar Highway, I am limiting my image gallery to that stretch between Silverton and Ouray. Constructed in the 1880s, that 25-mile (40 km) stretch was certainly difficult to build, but it didn’t cost a million dollars a mile.

To me, it’s a million-dollar highway because the views are worth a million dollars, OK? In any case, that section of highway is not one that will be traveled at freeway speeds. It is often shoulderless, is missing guardrails on some of the steepest dropoffs at the highway’s edge, and the speed limit in many sections is but 25 mph (40 kph). Besides, you’ll want to take it slow so your passengers can enjoy the beauty of the highway.

Switch drivers for the return trip so that the driver on the way to Ouray gets a chance to view the scenery on the way back to Silverton. The highway winds its way through three of the highest mountain passes in North America. The image above features a view of Red Mountain near the top of Red Mountain Pass.

This pass is extremely dangerous in the winter as there are no guardrails along this section of highway that is the summit of the 11,018-foot (3358 m) pass. As you can see from the image, the highway at this point is very near the top of Red Mountain.

Another definition of the Million Dollar Highway could be related to the mining activities in that area. A gold rush of prospectors swelled the population of the area in the 1880s. The last few miles of construction from Ouray to Ironton was the most difficult section to build. An enterprising railroad builder and entrepreneur by the name of Otto Mears constructed a toll road to allow passage between the two communities, the last stretch has come to be known as “Mears’ Miles.”

Just south of the city of Ouray is Bear Creek Falls where Otto Mears put his toll gate to collect the fees from travelers on this most difficult section of highway. Today, a large fenced area with ample parking allows visitors to take a look at the concrete bridge spanning the break in the rocks above Bear Creek. Take a moment to imagine a wood plank bridge that Otto Mears constructed there in 1880.

Near the falls is a trailhead that starts at Highway 550 and winds some 3.5 miles (5.6 km) up to the Yellow Jacket Mine. The elevation gain on the trail is about 1,000 feet (305 m), and there are switchbacks and steep ledges to contend with on your journey. For a less strenuous hike, you can stop and turn around at the Grizzly Bear Mine, about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the trailhead.

There is a large parking area near the waterfall, and if you look in the opposite direction from Bear Creek Falls, you can see another waterfall high in the mountains. The image above was captured with the zoom set to 150 mm, so that waterfall is a good distance from the parking area.

The scenery along the highway is plentiful, and there are lots of opportunities for some beautiful mountain landscape images. You will find, however, that there aren’t that many pull-offs. I sat in the back seat behind the driver on parts of the drive to allow me to shoot from the open window. If you are in motion, use a fast shutter speed so that you don’t get motion blur from the objects in the foreground. The image above was captured at 1/2500 seconds.

Please click on any of the images above to visit the gallery on my Flickr site. The images there are in 2K HD, and there are many more there than I shared here in this post. One thing I really like about the Flickr site is that the image metadata is available to view for those who are interested in the technical details of the images. Arrows on the left and right of the images will allow you to scroll through the entire gallery. You can also visit the Flickr album page here.

John Steiner