Durango area trails and camping rec’s

I’m heading out to the Durango and Telluride area and am looking for recommendations on some fun trails and places to camp. Thanks.

 

I would assume there’s still snow down there but other folks would have to chime in.

 

Recreation.gov

I have not camped myself down there so I don't know of any places specifically.

 

Most everything south of Lizard Head Pass and generally southwest of Silverton is San Juan NF: https://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/sanjuan/recreation/camping-cabins

North of those locations is Uncompahgre NF: https://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/gmug/recreation/camping-cabins

USFS lands down there are just starting to open up developed campgrounds and a good bit of that area has fire restrictions in place because it’s already hot and dry.

I’m sure someone will chime in with more specific recommendations soon.

 

probably a bit of snow up high still. tons of camping. molas is a great spot for something developed. options in silverton and ouray. there's a campground in downtown telluride. alta lakes campground is nice but do not know if it's open.

tons of riding. everywhere. big highlight would be to ride the CT from molas pass down into durango. it's about 35 miles most of which is near 11,000' but the views are amazing. i would recommend shuttling up to the top of molas and riding down into town. still early for high country riding though.

there is riding at purgratory but again, do not know if it's open. most of the resorts are still closed. telluride resort has riding too although they now charge for lift service. lots of trails right out of town too.

mtbproject will give you a good start.

https://www.mtbproject.com/directory/8007522/durango
https://www.mtbproject.com/directory/8007546/telluride

not sure if i should give this one away but, phil's world in cortez is a great spot.

i've got paper maps somewhere but will have to dig them out. i can give you a better list once i find them.

 

coming back to this, i just realized you probably meant truck trails, not bike trails.

you best bet for those is either the funtreks books or here: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/states/CO

however, a lot of stuff down there is closed due to snow and seasonal closures. here's the list.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sanjuan/maps-pubs/?cid=fsbdev3_002300

you can also use this as reference:
https://www.trailsoffroad.com/states/CO/high-country

 

Thanks Sean! I’ll have my bike and kayak with me so I appreciate the bike and truck trails.

should’ve been more specific in regards to camping. Nothing developed, only dispersed. I’m assuming any BLM or NF land is public and I can make camp anywhere? I’ll probably just do what I always do and wing it!

 

you could look into the uncompahgre plateau. i've only explored a small piece of it but there is a lot of land there. in durango, you'll find most dispersed camp sites off of NF roads outside of town. i think there's some spots up around the las animas lookout but i haven't been up there.

 

I’m up at Alta lakes right now near Telluride. Hardly anyone here compared to usual and it’s beautiful!

 

Planning a trip to Black Canyon/Telluride/Ouray/Silverton/Durango for mid-April. Will there still be a lot of snow? If so, I might have to change our plans and push this out more towards the end of May.

We were at RMNP last year around this time and most of the lakes were still frozen over. I was hoping further southwest CO would be a little bit more forgiving.

Thanks all.

 

We’re at 100% of snowpack or so and more weather coming. Snowing a little today and tomorrow. Things can melt quick though. Most of the high country forest trails open much later than May even. Here is a link to the Columbine Ranger road status page with typical openings for trails. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sanjuan/alerts-notices/?cid=fsbdev3_002309
Weather can be real nice April and May (can be windy and random cold snaps though) and at the low elevations should be pretty dry. High country will still have minimal openings even in May

 

We’ve been in Ouray for our anniversary (last week of June) and had trails still closed. Good news is there are

places in town with daily updates on conditions.