Things to Do in Ouray, Colorado

The city-run pool at the north end of town has been open since July 4, 1927, and was rebuilt in 2016 and 2017. Its water is sulfur-free, so there’s no rotten-egg smell. Pools range from a cool lap pool to an overlook soaking pool that runs about 102 to 106 degrees.

★ Good to know It’s open year-round with no reservations needed. The shallow pool, activity pool and water slides only run from Memorial Day into mid-August.

Canyon Creek squeezes through a narrow quartzite gorge here and drops 285 feet, with rock walls towering nearly 100 feet over the falls. An easy 500-foot walk takes you into the canyon, and the High Bridge Trail climbs 200 feet for views over town. The Audubon Society recognizes it as a birding hot spot for its colony of black swifts.

★ Good to know The park is open roughly May through early November and closed in winter, and dogs aren’t allowed.

Every November, volunteer “ice farmers” spray water down the walls of the Uncompahgre Gorge to build more than 150 named ice and mixed climbs. The park has run since 1994 and is free and public. In summer, the same gorge holds the Ouray Via Ferrata, a route of cables, ladders and iron rungs. The Downstream Route is the easier one; the Upstream Route is more exposed.

★ Good to know The ice park aims to open by mid-December and close at the end of March, depending on conditions. The Ouray Ice Festival, its main fundraiser, is held every January.

The Ouray Trail Group’s Perimeter Trail loops 5.6 miles around town on the canyon walls, with four waterfalls and six bridges. It gains about 1,800 feet and takes most people four to five hours. You can skip the full loop and walk a quarter mile from the end of 8th Avenue to the base of 270-foot Cascade Falls.

★ Good to know The loop starts across US 550 from the Ouray Visitor Center. Marked exit points lead back into town if you only want a piece of it.

Yankee Boy Basin sits under 13,000- and 14,000-foot peaks including Mount Sneffels, with old mines, twin waterfalls and summer wildflowers. The road climbs past the Camp Bird Mine, which produced more than a million ounces of gold. San Juan Scenic Jeep Tours has guided trips from Ouray since 1946.

★ Good to know Guided Yankee Boy tours generally run from late May into early October, so check with the operators for the current season.

The museum fills the old St. Joseph’s Miners’ Hospital, built in 1886 and run by the Sisters of Mercy until 1964. Its three floors hold 38 exhibits in 27 rooms on mining, ranching and railroading, plus mineral and Native American collections. It sits at 420 6th Avenue, across from the Ouray County Courthouse.

★ Good to know It’s typically closed November through April, so plan it for a summer or fall visit and allow at least an hour.

This tour goes 1,500 feet into Gold Mountain on the Syracuse Level. The Bachelor Mine produced gold and silver for nearly a century. It stays 52 degrees underground, so it’s a good rainy-day pick. There’s gold panning in a stream coming out of the mountain.

★ Good to know The mine reopened after the Gold Mountain Fire forced a temporary closure, so book ahead or call to check tour times.

Main Street is lined with 1880s brick and iron-front buildings, including the Beaumont Hotel and the Wright Opera House. The opera house opened on December 4, 1888, and has one of the finest Mesker iron facades in the country. It still hosts concerts, films and theater.

★ Good to know The street is also the start of the Million Dollar Highway, US 550 over Red Mountain Pass to Silverton.