Hiking to Upper Cascade Falls, Ourary Colorado

** Video link at the bottom of post **

I had visited Ouray several times, but until July 2016 I had only seen the lower Cascade Falls.  I had not hiked up to the Upper Cascade Falls and Chief Ouray mine.  The abandoned building of Chief Ouray mine can be seen high above Ouray to the east above Lower Cascade Falls, but Upper Falls can not be seen from town.

The trailhead is located in the Amphitheater Campground at the southeast corner of the parking lot and the campground is in the southeast corner of the town of Ouray.  The trail is well marked and easy to find.  There are other trailheads which intersect the trail.

Trailhead is easy to find

The trail meanders through the forest and begins to ascend up the side of the mountains with a series of switchbacks.  The trail starts at 8,475 feet and reaches 10,000 feet prior to making it to the falls. 

Early on the trail

An interesting grove on the trail

With an elevation gain of 1,525 feet in approx. 2.2 miles the trail is considered moderate-strenuous.  The views of the San Juan Mountains and the town of Ouray from the trail are awesome.

Looking south from the trail

The trail never gets above treeline, but the trees do thin out allowing great views of the area.  About 2 miles in the trail makes a sharp turn at the edge of the mountain, which is the high point of the trail,  and begins to descent to the falls.

The trails turns sharply just past the rocks on the right and descents to the falls.

It was not long after the switchback I began to hear Upper Cascade Falls and soon the falls came into view. 

First view of the final crest of Upper Cascade Falls

After spending some time at the falls I continued on the trail with a slight elevation gain to the abandoned equipment building of the Chief Ouray mine.

Chief Ouray equipment building

 The old building was surprisingly sturdy and it was obvious hikers had visited a lot.  I hike a little past the building stopping to enjoy a picnic of trail mix and turkey jerky while soaking in the peacefulness and views.  I hiked down the same trail and never saw another hiker.  I enjoyed the solitude.

I highly recommend the hike.  It is worth it.  Check out the video below slowing a lot more from the hike.  Please also visit the video on Youtube where you can like, share, comment and subscribe!

Watch video on YouTube

Jeeping in the San Juans

My brother-in-law had been telling me for years how much fun and invigorating taking a jeep ride over the mountains in the San Juans near Ouray was.  I decided to do just that during our annual motorcycle trip this past summer (June '09).  The guys and I rented two jeeps and tried it out ourselves.

We stayed 3 nights in cabins at the Ouray KOA, which is a great campground in a very pretty and quite area just north of Ouray.  We rented the two jeeps at the campground and picked them up at 4:30 on Sunday June 14, '09 and returned them before 5pm the next day.

We left the KOA around 8 after breakfast and headed into town.  We stocked up on snacks and drinks, after all there is not a Burger King on the Alpine Loop. :)

We drove south out of Ouray on US 550 for about 3+ miles and turn left on Country Road 878 a.k.a. The Alpine Loop.  We left the nice paved road and began a day long adventure. (Photo of 1/2 our group as they round a corner on the Alpine Loop)

Within the first 2 miles we hit some pretty big (by this amateur jeepist's standard) rocks and it was pretty rough, but became much better quickly.  The vistas were great.  To the south of the road snow covered Tuttle Mountain was visible.  (That is the picture at the top of the blog.)

The trail continued to ascend up the mountains and we passed several abandoned mines and cabins including Mineral Point that was founded in 1873.  Soon after passing Mineral Point we ascended above the timberline.  Snow patches were plentiful and the higher we went the more snow there was.  Snow melt made the road muddy in places and fed the mountain streams and falls.

Mineral Point as seen from the Alpine Loop.

Another abandoned mine on the loop.

The closer to Engineer Pass the colder it got and the muddier the roads were.  Prior to Engineer Pass there  is a big pull off area named Oh! Point.  There was plenty of room to park (room enough for our two jeeps, ten 4-wheelers that arrived from Lake City on the east end of the Alpine Loop with room to spare). The view was spectacular.  From Oh! Point we could see Engineer Pass and the road that continued east.  (See the next photo)

We continued to Engineer Pass (12,800 ft) in spite of one in our group who was having a difficult time with the sheer drop offs and narrow trails.  At the pass we were rewarded with an amazing view, cold winds, a lot of snow and the thrill of making it to our destination.  We enjoyed the moment and took several photos.

(Here is a link I found on Youtube of jeeps going to Engineer Pass that can give you an idea of the trail.)

We back tracked passed Oh! Point and headed to Animas Forks, an abandoned mining town.  Animas Forks is a great ghost town and is at elevation of almost 11,200 feet. Several buildings are still standing.  We walked around and in buildings. There is a lot history there.  Animas Fork at one time had a newspaper known for being printed at the highest elevation for any newspaper.  A record it still holds.

We continued west through California Gulch surrounded by snow.  At times the snow banks on either side of the trail were 8-12 feet high!  We passed Hurricane Peak (13,447 ft) and drove through Hurricane Pass and continued pass Red Mountain 1(12,592 ft) and down the appropriately named Corkscrew Gulch. (photo on the right was taken at the beginning of Corkscrew Gulch)

At the end of Corkscrew Gulch we come to US 550 and head back to Ouray.  This was my first jeep outing in the mountains, but it will not be may last!  My rating of the Alpine Loop and jeeping around the Ouray/Silverton area is: