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Black Bear Pass
From Dirtopia, The Off-Road Encyclopedia
 Photo: The tightest switchback on the trail | |
| Off-Road Information | |
| Other Names: | |
|---|---|
| Terrain: | 4x4/atv/dirtbike |
| Off-Road Use: | |
| Difficulty: | Moderate(6) |
| Camping: | {{{camping}}} |
| Geography | |
| County: | Ouray County |
| Nearest Cities: | Ouray, CO Telluride, CO |
| Map Links: | Google Map |
| Satellite Map: | {{{satlinks}}} |
| Special Map: | |
| GPS Coords: | 37.8966/-107.714 |
| Google Earth: | Black_Bear_Pass.kml |
| Climate: | |
| Area Size: | |
| Elevation: | |
| Last Visited: | {{{lastvisited}}} |
| Open/Closed/Date: | Closed - Nov 29 2007 |
| Season(s): | {{{seasons}}} |
Excerpt borrowed with permission from TrailDamage.com
This is one of the most famous trails in the state and for good reason. It's beautiful and slightly terrifying. You travel from south of Ouray to Telluride over Black Bear Pass, around Ingram Basin, and right through the middle of Bridal Veil Falls.
The trail starts out at a large area to air down just off the highway. You climb almost immediately and start working your way to the pass. Keep going to your right if you can't tell which trail is correct. It makes sense if you keep trying to get to the top of the ridge and to Black Bear Pass.
Once you get to the pass at 3.2 miles you are treated to a beautiful view and lots of open space. The trail starts down the pass and you work your way around a shelf road with Ingram Basin and Ingram Lake below you. Ingram Peak looks over the scenery here.
Don't go down into the basin valley -- continue along the shelf. Soon you'll be able to catch your first glimpse of Telluride far below, and you'll be able to see Telluride almost all the time until you finally reach it.
The switchbacks start soon after you leave Ingram Basin. There are a few different lines to take but they're all about the same difficulty. They keep getting tougher as you follow Ingram Creek.
At 6.5 miles the switchbacks above the creek become their most terrifying. This is perhaps the most unnerving part of the trail, contrary to what you may have read in other reports. It is a shelf road of rock with loose sand on it and you must go downhill at a steep angle, turning to your right at the bottom. The entire time all you have in front of you is Telluride thousands of feet below you. Go slowly and carefully. You may not want to tackle this hill if it is wet.
When you get around the corner the trail becomes shelf road and even widens a bit. You come around the corner to actually drive over a shallow part of Bridal Veil Falls. You can get out here and take pictures, though there really isn't anywhere to get out of the way if there are others behind you (the trail is one way here).
After passing a mine that is almost lost to the elements you begin more tight switchbacks of loose dirt and rocks. The tightest switchback is here and one you have probably read about. Don't get too close to the edge (it's loose) and take it slowly, backing up as often as you need to.
There are more switchbacks and each one gets a little wider. Eventually you end up at the Bridal Veil Falls Powerhouse and a gate. This is private property though you can walk closer. There is a sign stating you should not block the gate or roadway, but there is room to pull over after the switchback at the Powerhouse, past the sign stating the trail is one way past that point up to the top.
Work your way down the switchbacks and you will find yourself in Telluride at the Pandora Mill. This is the main street in town.
Further Details
Black Bear Pass is a difficult trail. Black Bear pass is a One-Way trail only from the Ouray side. I have heard that Telluride runs the trail backwards one day a year, this trail is very dangerous. There is a 900' cliff at the end and if you fall off you will most likely die. There is about one accident per year on this trail. You want to go do it late summer i.e. August, or September. I did it in my '99 4Runner with 3" lift and 33 inch tires, open diffs. Any aggressive stock SUV can probably do this trail, with an experienced driver with nerves of steel. Granted I have seen two people I know do it in their stock Jeeps, but those people have 30+ years experience each 4-wheeling Moab and the sort.
The trail itself isn't that bad at the beginning and through most of the trail, I would say it is moderate at best. The trail becomes progressively harder after the Black Bear Pass. Earlier I said that the trail is one way only, but that applies to the end of the trail where there is a very steep decent with very tight switchbacks, and a beautiful waterfall (which you can get to from Telluride in a car). Once you see Telluride below you are getting to the sign that states the one way only after that point.
It gets pretty steep, it was hard to walk down and up. I suggest you stop your vehicle and walk it to know where you will go. I suggest staying as close to the mountain side as possible. After the steep part, you will veer to the right. The first and second switchbacks are the tightest, after that it's just the cliff on one side and the mountain on the other. By no means, don't let this post scare you. This trail is one of the greatest scenery here in CO. Just use your head and don't go alone.
Once in Telluride there is a park where I like to eat lunch, gas stations and all that stuff. From here you can take Imogene Pass, or Ophir Pass back to Ouray. Imogene Pass is a great trail because it connects up to Yankee Boy Basin, as well as Governor basin. But the day we went Telluride was having a foot race on Imogene, from Telluride to Ouray. So, we took Ophir Pass back.
External Links
TrailDamage.com pictures, movies, maps, GPS coordinates and additional trail information.
Maps and GPS Coordinates
A comprehensive list of GPS waypoints and tracks in Google Earth format can be found here: Black_Bear_Pass.kml
Black Bear Pass Coordinates: 37.8966° -107.714°
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Find nearby Geocaching locations
- Find this location with Google Earth
