The first “home base” for Nomad Summer (our three week camper trip) was Ouray, Colorado. We knew we wanted to do at least two weeks in Colorado, and when we were searching for different locations, we found the most scenic RV park I think we might ever stay in and suddenly, Ouray became the first stop, and boy are we glad it was. We fell hard on our week camping in Ouray, Colorado.
A Little Introduction to Ouray,
Ouray is very affectionately known as the Switzerland of America, and it feels pretty accurate. I’ve not spent a ton of time in Switzerland, but this is very reminiscent of a small, Swiss village. Ouray sits along the Uncompahgre River and is nestled in the San Juan Mountains. There are waterfalls, wildflowers, snow-capped peaks and even a hot spring here. It’s just magical. This is one of the end points of the Million Dollar Highway – and our favorite section of it, too.
Quick Info About Ouray, Colorado
Where We Camped: Ouray Riverside Resort – It’s perfect. It’s quite expensive for a campground, but even so we felt it was worth every penny. It’s a stunning location. We were in the back premium sites that got us mountain views and made it a little quieter. It sits just outside of downtown and along the river. We took the riverwalk most days for either exercise or to go to the park or the Hot Springs Pool. They have resources onsite like gas, propane and even a delicious (albeit a bit expensive) Smokehouse Restaurant.
Things Definitely Are Priced for Tourism: Obviously prices in Colorado in general are a bit higher than they are back home for us in Missouri, but certain towns have more limited resource options and therefore can set their prices a little bit higher, and that is definitely true in Ouray in many places compared to nearby Montrose.
Resource Availability: You can get just about anything you’d need in town, but at a higher price. Their grocery store is small and does have a more limited selection. But you can survive with ease. Ha. However, Montrose is only about 40 minutes away and they have larger chain stores with wider selection and lower prices – like Target and Walmart.
Be Bear Aware Here: Although we didn’t see any bears while we were in Ouray, we did have a large bear poop right outside of our truck overnight. Black bears definitely live here in the San Juans, so don’t leave food in your cars, be mindful of little ones and use your normal bear aware practices.
Although It’s Small, It’s Worth Time Spent Here: There is quite a bit to do here, and we’re going to get into that more in the next section. Just don’t sleep on Ouray.
Sites We Loved In and Just Outside Ouray, Colorado
Because Ouray was our home base for the week, we explored quite a bit around the area. If we hadn’t had the little ones with us, this week would’ve been a lot more active. But, we still managed to see some pretty cool sites.
Box Cañon Falls Park: Box Cañon Falls Park is located just outside of downtown Ouray. This park costs $7 for adults, $5 for kids 4 and up, and $6 for seniors over 62. This park has three short trails that go to very different things: one to the Box Cañon Falls, one along a nature path and one up the side of the cliff over the top of the box canyon with a stunning view of Ouray.
Cascade Falls: This is a beautiful waterfall that’s reachable from a relatively easy trail, again, just outside of downtown. This is a free trail to visit, and there are two sections. The lower section and the upper section that intersects with the Perimeter Trail. You can even walk behind the section on the upper falls.
Exploring the Shops: There are lots of fun and unique shops, along with some kitschy tourist shops, which have their own charm. I loved Gator Emporium and the Rock Shop in town.
Bear Creek Falls: This is along the Million Dollar Highway, just outside of Ouray. It’s the first major overlook you come to that looks over peaks of mountains and there is a waterfall to the left and a waterfall to the right. The larger one is Bear Creek Falls. There is also a short trail that leads down closer to the fall.
Drive Up to Red Mountain Pass: This drive is incredibly scenic. You drive past some of the, in our opinion, most beautiful views there. Also, you’ll find all kinds of remnants of old mines along the way, as well as tons of hiking access right off the road.
Hot Springs Park: Because we had the kiddos with us, we spent a good amount of time at the Hot Springs Park. They loved the play equipment there and it was a good amount of space to play. Our kids made lots of friends on the playground that week.
Hot Springs Park Pool: In addition to the play equipment, there is a hot springs pool at Hot Springs Park. However, it’s quite expensive to visit. It’s $30/per adult for a day! If we hadn’t promised the kids that we would take them – and they remembered – we would’ve skipped it. That said, we did greatly enjoy our time there. Plus, the waterslides were free the day we went which made it an extra-good deal. We had a ton of fun swimming with the kids.
Uncompahgre Riverside Walk: The Uncompahgre Riverside Walk ran right along our campground, so we took it over to the park and it’s so beautiful that we walked it just about every single day. We also biked it once too.
Baby Bathtubs Trail: This is another short and easy trail that leads to a small collection of pools that are formed by a cascade. It also connects with the Portland Trail at a bridge. It’s a beautiful little trail that is just outside of downtown.
Day Trips We Took While Camping in Ouray Colorado
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Approximate distance from Ouray – 50 miles / 1 hour
We spent a full day in Black Canyon of the Gunnison. It was a really easy day trip to the South Rim of this National Park. I feel like we were able to see a lot – all but 2 of the overlook trails, most of Rim Rock Trail and all of Warner Point Trail. I would highly recommend this as a day trip.
Telluride
Approximate distance from Ouray – 50 miles / 1 hour, 5 minutes
This mountain town is like a more built up and more touristy Ouray. That said, it’s not too touristy. We found local places to eat, enjoyed their local greenway trail, visited the farmers market and the local library. We loved it so much we spent half of two days here. I would definitely come back here and spend more time here.
Drive the Million Dollar Highway
Takes approximately 2 hours, each way, to drive if you go all the way to Durango
This is one of the most scenic drives I’ve ever done. I will say, I do think that the section from Ouray to Silverton was the most scenic and extremely special. We didn’t stay in Silverton to explore since we added Mesa Verde onto this travel day. But, it’s something I would really like to do eventually.
Mesa Verde National Park
Approximate distance from Ouray – 105 miles / 2 hours, 20 minutes
This was a long day trip form Ouray, but it was still easily done. I will say, if I couldn’t get tickets to tour one of the archaeological sites, I wouldn’t wouldn’t make this day trip. I would rather spend time in the mountains or exploring another town. But I am itching to get back to Mesa Verde to tour one of the sites!
For the Love of Wanderlust Tip: This route is taking the Million Dollar Highway, so it’s easy to combine those two day trips into one trip!
Would I Do A Trip to Ouray Again?
I 100% would do a trip with Ouray as a basecamp again. If I wasn’t in a camper, I would probably spend nights in different towns just to have more time in those destinations, but it wasn’t difficult to do these as day trips. I really enjoyed our daily walks on the riverwalk and settling into “life” in Ouray. We enjoyed it so much that we have even talked about doing it all again, but even longer, in a year or two. Ouray definitely stole our hearts and will be an object of my daydreams.
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