West Gold Hill Dinosaur Trackway

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 4 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 7618 - 9287 feet
Cellphone: 1-5 bars
Time: 3 hrs.
Trailhead: Silvershield
Fee: none
Attractions: World's longest dino trackway

The West Gold Hill Dinosaur Trackway is located near the end of the Silvershield trail in Ouray, Colorado. Found at the site are 134 consecutive footprints that were left roughly 150 million years ago by a sauropod dinosaur. At 106 yards long they form the longest known dinosaur trackway in the world.

Columbine Lake

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 7 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
MTB Skill level:
Elevation: 10,406 - 12,678 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 5 hrs.
Trailhead: Forest Road #820
Fee: none
Attractions: Beautiful alpine lake

The Columbine Lake trail is located in the San Juan National Forest between Ouray, Colorado and Silverton. The trail begins off of Forest Road #820 a short distance from Highway 550, on the south side of Red Mountain Pass. From there the trail climbs steeply up a series of switchbacks through a coniferous forest for more than a mile. The trail remains steep for another mile as it climbs above timberline to the saddle of a ridge where at the 2 mile point the elevation reaches 12,448 feet. From the saddle the elevation gain moderates considerably and the trail turns into a pleasant hike into the upper basin of Mill Creek. The trail ends up climbing along Mill Creek until it reaches its source at Columbine Lake where the brilliantly sapphire colored waters of the lake award hikers for all their effort.

Dallas

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 8 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
MTB Skill level:
Elevation: 7,568 - 10,011 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 5 hrs. 30 mins.
Trailhead: Dallas
Fee: none
Attractions: Popular forest trail/backpacking

The Dallas trail is located in the Mountain Division of the Uncompahgre National Forest near Ouray, Colorado. The trail begins off of County Road 17 near Ouray, Colorado where it begins by ascending a series of switchbacks that take if from the valley floor up a steep mountainside. After the initial climb the trail continues gaining elevation until by the time that it reaches Moonshine Park, some 4 miles from the trailhead, it tops out at just over 10,000 feet. The Dallas trail is connected to by the Corbett trail at the 1 mile point and then once again 2.5 miles later.

Na-gach

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 0.6 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 8326 - 8440 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 45 mins.
Trailhead: Amphitheatre Picnic Area
Fee: none
Attractions: Scenic overlook

The Nag-gach trail is located near the Amphitheatre Campground in Ouray, Colorado. The short trail connects the Amphitheatre Picnic Area with the campground. At the top of the trail there is an overlook where the little hamlet of Ouray can be seen in the valley below as the rugged San Juan Mountains tower thousands of feet higher in the background.