Colorful Colorado Part Two

Part Two: Ouray

“The mountains are calling and I must go.”

John Muir

I know that my chosen quote is a bit overused, but you know what they say: when the shoe fits… buy one in every color. I am, without a doubt, a mountain girl, so it should really come as no surprise that my favorite place in Colorado, so far, is Ouray. A beautiful old mining town in a gorgeous mountain pass with Victorian structures on every block. What is not to love?! By the way that is pronounced “Your-ray” not “Oo-ray”, as I was recently schooled by a local! 😉

Located a mere 45 minutes south of Montrose, traffic depending, the drive to Ouray is an interesting study in mesa to mountain. At some point you realize that the hills around you have turned red, instead of the customary brown that you’ve been seeing up until now, and the trees have grown taller and thicker. This was actually my second visit to Ouray, and I was so very happy to see that my memories of it hadn’t been embellished in my mind! It is a beautiful little gem, tucked into the mountainside, and it’s a charming mix of time forgotten and modern conveniences.

Something you’ll quickly learn about me, if you stick around long enough, is that I LOVE waterfalls. As in, I will hike some ridiculous amounts to see them, and they are my favorite views ever. I get excited when I see the little mini-waterfalls on the sides of the highways just driving to whatever event or hike we have planned for the day. I have seen some beautiful waterfalls and I have a list a mile long of more waterfalls that I plan on seeing before I die! I tell you all of this to explain that another reason I love Ouray may just be because they have TWO waterfalls in their little town!!!

The last time I visited we stopped at Cascade Falls, actually located down a side road in the main part of Ouray, and an “easy” .25 mile walk from the trail head. Logistics are: You’ll turn left from the Main Street onto 8th Avenue and there are some little signs to help lead you. Parking consists of finding a spot all along the road leading up to the trailhead (there is a little parking lot at the top, and there is usually someone leaving no matter when you arrive) and the climb to the trailhead can be a little steep (especially if you’ve had to park further down on 8th Avenue). The waterfall is either a gusher or a trickle, depending on the time of year you go, and I’ve even heard that it can be non-existent. When we went, in September, it was definitely more of a trickle, but it was still pretty and the view looking back over the town was 100% worth the brief climb.

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People go to Ouray for the hiking, Jeeping, mountain-biking, hot springs, and the shopping, just to name a few reasons. Whatever you do, make sure you schedule enough time into your visit to do some combination of at least two of those! I’m going to highly recommend the hiking and the shopping, but I would love to go back and try the Jeeping and the Hot Springs. (The hot springs were actually closed down that evening due to the thunder and lightning storm that was rolling through when we were there, so while they were on our list, they’ll have to wait until our next visit!) The shops in Ouray are fun and definitely “touristy” while also being eclectic. For example: The bookstore is located in the same building as the Beaumont Hotel and there is a connection through their store to the restaurant. It wasn’t open when we were there, so we’re not really sure how that works, but the hotel looks amazing and old, much like the rest of the town and the bookstore was beautifully done (recently remodeled) and full of charm.

You may remember me saying in the beginning of this post, that Ouray was an old mining town, and they are very proud of that fact. They have placed plaques on every block which will show you what buildings stood there (looking across from you) back when the town was founded, with an update in the early 1900’s. It is so neat to look up from those plaques and seeing what is still standing and/or what is there now! I’m a fan of history, and anything with character, and Ouray has both, in spades!

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If you drive through Ouray, heading up towards those mountains in the distance, you’ll reach the turnoff for Box Canyon Falls Park pretty quickly. Interesting note: it’s a one way in, one way out “attraction” so the way you go in is NOT the way you go out. (PLEASE don’t be that person, who somehow, inevitably, tries to go out the entrance and causes a ruckus of consternation for those trying to come in! Insert facepalm here!) Furthermore, the exit drops you back down into the middle of a neighborhood in town. (I know, right?!)

Fair warning… Box Canyon does charge a nominal entrance fee, per person. You need to check into the visitor center at the trail head to pay the fee of $3.00 per child (4-17) and $4.00 per adult (18-61). There is a senior citizen and military discount, as well. I loved the fact that they had a “Senior Citizen” (62-74) and a “Super Senior” (75+) listed on their website! ha! This is because these hikes/trails are do-able for most everyone. There are a lot of stairs (so keep that in mind for the elderly, or anyone with knee problems) and the upper canyon trail is a little steep, rocky and, when we were there, slippery because it was raining off and on! None of these things dampened our enjoyment of the views, the waterfall, or the history of the place!

It also bears noting that we saw people in flip flops doing this hike, (although, in all honesty, they weren’t happy about their choice of foot wear about 10 feet in, so please don’t take that as a recommendation) children of all ages, to include those being carried by their parents, and quite a few elderly people, all of whom just took it slowly. We wore tennis shoes, which would have been plenty, normally, but the rain did make us wish we had worn our hiking boots a little bit, on the upper portion of the trail.

Almost immediately upon starting the trail, you’re met with a fork in the road- the Falls Trail or the High Bridge Trail. To the left, on the way to the High Bridge Trail, is another trail that breaks off to the left again. This trail offers nothing but a steep, and slippery if it’s raining, trail to nowhere, with a beautiful view of the town. This is where I took the picture of Cascade Falls, from the complete opposite side of the valley. Not bad for a short little hike.

The High Bridge Trail is a little bit of a steep climb (for a very short amount of time) and it takes you to a bridge which spans the gap in the canyon. If you’re afraid of heights, this bridge will not be your friend, as it is made of open-slats metal- A.K.A: see-through. This angle was a blast to take pictures of the waterfall through, but everyone held their cameras/phones a little tighter while doing it. If your phone falls out of your hand here, you will never be getting that bad boy back! There is a fun tunnel on the other side of the bridge, (don’t forget to duck- a lot) and the trial continues out the other side and down the hillside. It’s part of another, longer, trail and we did not take that one.

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I know this is a long post, and it seems like this adventure should be over, but it’s not! After you’re done enjoying all that the High Bridge has to offer, you climb back down and take the Falls Trail, next. This trail, according to their website, is a “mostly level, easy, 500 foot walk into the canyon.” It is an easy walk, but here, again, there are a lot of stairs. The waterfall is amazing, and the sound of it pounding down into the canyon is something you don’t want to miss, but keep those stairs in mind for anyone with knee problems. They are nice, sturdy stairs, handrails all the way down, but the closer you get to the falls, the wetter they can be, so you don’t want to get cocky. Other than that, all that I have left to say about this part of the trail, is: Enjoy!

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Finally, two last things… make sure you enjoy some of the food and, just for the fun of it, SHOPPING! 😉 Ouray has a great sense of humor and you can see it in all its glory inside each of their shops, and they’ve got a plethora of restaurants to satisfy the hunger you’ve worked up with all that hiking! We ate at the Ouray Brewery, both times I’ve been, actually, as well as at Thai Chili. My fiance had a chicken ramen dish that looked beyond delicious, and which he thoroughly enjoyed, at Thai Chili and we had regular, yummy, burgers and dogs at Ouray Brewery, as well as some tasty ciders and beers.

Side note: If you like ciders you’ll be thrilled to know they offered four different kinds! Four! I often have a hard time finding even one cider at restaurants so to see four was a treat! Also, Ouray Brewery has one of the most fun bars I’ve ever been to- on the ground floor they have actual swing seats!! 😍

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If you ever have the chance (and even if you don’t) GO to Ouray, Colorado. It’s a fun trip, beautiful scenery, wonderfully nice people everywhere, and gorgeous waterfalls! Oh, and an extremely popular hot springs! But don’t take my word for it…