Red Mountain Pass

Description: Driving this high mountain pass is not for the faint of heart. However, if you brave the steep drop-offs and disturbing lack of guardrails, you will be treated to one of the most amazing scenic drives in Colorado. From Ouray you start out in mixed-conifer woodland, head up into spruce-fir, and top out in willow carrs just below treeline. A good variety of montane passerines can be seen, and Black Swifts are often spotted flying overhead. Be careful when parking off the road here; shoulders are narrow to non-existent, and parking spots are few and far between.

Habitat: Cliff Face, Spruce-Fir Forest, Streamside Willow

Directions: From Silverton travel north on US 550 to the pass, where there is parking on the west side.

Dates of Access: Any
Hours of Operation: Any

Delorme: 76 A4
Roads of Colorado: 115 D4

Latitude: 37.898854000000
Longitude: -107.711967000000

Ownership: US Forest Service
Lodging: None
Parking: Roadside
Admission: Free
Restrictions or Hazards: Be careful when parking off the road; stay out of the way of traffic
Handicap Access: None