Scenes along the Million Dollar Highway

Million Dollar Highway - Credit Lindsay Godfree

If you are lucky or unlucky enough to drive the scenic Million Dollar Highway that stretches for about 25 miles in western Colorado and following route U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado you will always remember the trip. It is part of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway between Durango and Silverton, the mountain Skyway that loosely parallels the famous Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad route.

As you drive the highway from Ouray to the summit of Red Mountain Pass along the Million Dollar Highway, you drive through three famous mining tunnels; the Meldrum Tunnel, Joker Tunnel and the most famous the Treasury Tunnel located near the top of Red Mountain Pass. The entrance to the Treasury Tunnel is behind the large metal door against the hillside across the highway from the Mining Overlook near the summit of Red Mountain.

Idarado Mine - Credit Lindsay Godfree

During your ascent you’ll see the remains of the Idarado Mine. There is a scenic overlook turnout but not for truckers, to take photos and read the history of the mines. When traveling one way from Ouray to Silverton drivers hug the inside of curves; travel the other, drivers perches on the vertiginous outside edge of the highway. Large semi trucks and RVs travel in both directions, which adds a degree of excitement for people on the edge.

Though the entire stretch has been called the Million Dollar Highway, it is really the twelve miles south of Ouray through the Uncompahgre Gorge to the summit of Red Mountain Pass which gains the highway its name. This stretch through the gorge is challenging and potentially hazardous to drive, characterized by steep cliffs, narrow lanes, and a lack of guardrails. The ascent to Red Mountain Pass is marked with a number of hairpin “S” curves gaining elevation, and more narrow lanes for traffic cut directly into the sides of mountains.  Thrills and chills for gear shifting truck drivers and you better be sure the brakes are in good working order for this drive.

Pinkerton Hot Springs cone - Credit Lindsay Godfree

You will also pass the ski resort of Purgatory which is my current favorite place to ski. Near Hermosa you come across a with travertine mound that minerals of a hot spring has built up over the years a along the side of the road. A family by the name of Pinkerton settled in this area in 1875 and started a dairy farm. The Pinkertons built a bath house so family and guests could enjoy the hot springs known as Pinkerton Hot Springs. In the 1920s, Pinkerton-in-the-Pines Resort offered a pool for swimming, plus music and dancing but all that is there now is the marker by the cone and warm water coming out.

Why is it called the Million Dollar Highway? Some claim that it derives from the actual cost of blasting and paving the route in the 1930s. Some say it was first used after an early traveler, complaining of the vertigo-inducing steepness of the route, said, “I wouldn’t go that way again if you paid me a million dollars.” But the favorite explanation is probably the most likely: When the highway was first constructed, the builders used gravel discarded by nearby gold and silver mines, only to find out later that this dirt was actually rich in ore and worth an estimated “million dollars.”

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