Ridgway State Park

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It’s a pretty short drive from Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to our next planned stop - Ridgway State Park. Since it’s only 33 miles away, some could argue we could have just visited the national park out of Ridgway but we would not have gotten to see and do all the things in Black Canyon if we had a 45 minute drive each way. The actual name of the campground within the state park is a mouthful, Pa-Co-Chu-Puk. Which means cow creek in the Ute language.

There are actually several campgrounds within this state park but we picked the one with full hookups although it’s only 30 amp electric. Our campground is on the north side of Ridgway Reservoir while the visitor center and other camping areas are in a completely different location about a 4 mile drive to the south. The actual town of Ridgway isn’t all that big, but Montrose is only an 18 miles drive if we need to get groceries or other supplies. Our site is right next to the Uncompahgre River but it’s a steep 20 foot drop to water level so we really only have the sounds of the water. On the opposite side of the river is a large hill with over an 800 foot rise with many near vertical sections. It is rather pretty, but has the downside of blocking all over the air TV reception and almost all cell phone signal. It’s not quite as bad as the national park campground but close.

Cliffs to the West of Ridgway State Park

Entrance Sign at Park

On our first full day at Pa-Co-Chu-Puk, we saw the Blue Mesa Trail goes between our campground and the marina and visitor center in the main area. It’s just under a 7 mile out and back with only 850 feet of elevation gain. It sounded like a nice hiking trail, but the park’s trail map identified this trail as “good mountain biking”  and “best views” so we opted to try it as a bike ride. We bike out of the campground and head towards the dam in search of the trailhead. We quickly discovered that the trail heads up quickly, gaining over 200 feet in about 1/3 mile. Even though there were several switchbacks, it was a very steep trail. It also wasn’t very wide and had quite a few rock steps to negotiate along the way. Obviously we were pushing the bikes up, but at times the trail was too narrow to have the bike’s tires and our feet side by side. It took us a very long time to get to the top of the ridge and we would have turned around but we knew going down the trail with the loose rocky surface and the bikes was a recipe for disaster.

Overlooking Campground

Good Luck Biking This Trail!

Backside of the Dam

Once on top of the ridge, the trail was in great shape and excellent for mountain biking. Plus the views of the reservoir were nice too since we were about 150 feet above the water. The trail follows the ridge and most of the way it was easy biking. There were a few spots where some fencing was in place simply because the trail was right next to a steep drop off. Hopefully the fence went up before someone drove off the trail as opposed to being in response to a mishap.

A Decent Mountain Biking Trail

View of Dam from Above

Ridgway Reservoir

As we work our way south, we come around a bend and get a great view of the marina below. This view made it clear that this body of water is a good 15 feet below normal. There were a couple of steep downhill stretches where Chris needed to walk her bike and I had to be very careful on the loose gravel but once we hid the paved portion of the trail, it was an easy ride past the marina and up to the visitor center. We stopped and took a break and formulated our return trip since we were unwilling to backtrack and try the steep downhill switchbacks near camp. US 550 looked to be our only option. From what we could tell, it appeared to have decent shoulders and should be a safe ride back north to camp. The interesting thing was this is the exact same route that we took back in 1991 during our cross country tandem bike ride. I’m pretty sure this was the first time to retrace some of our route via bike! It turned out that the ride is predominantly downhill so was fairly easy. The whole trip turned into a 10 mile ride and 97% of it was rather nice, unfortunately the 3% sticks in my mind more clearly.

Overlooking Marina

The following day we would revert back to hiking since biking in Colorado can be a challenge. We head to the beautiful mountain town of Ouray about 20 miles south of camp. Our goal is to hike the 6 mile Ouray Perimeter Trail. It has over 1500 feet of elevation change and is near an average elevation of 8000 feet so it should be a good workout for us. The plan was to park near the visitor center on the north side of town and head clockwise around the loop. Of course the morning we headed there, the work crews were resurfacing the road and were right in front of the turn into the parking lot. There are lots of other possible parking areas and trailheads that will work so we pick the one nearest to Cascade Falls. Many of the people here were heading up to check out the falls but that would require us to backtrack a bit so we skip the falls except for the views we get from the trail heading south. In theory we should be walking past the falls on our way back so it won’t matter.

View from Parking Lot

Cascade Falls

The trail was in excellent shape and we had picked a day with great weather. While some of the trail is in the woods, we are treated with views of town below and all the mountain peaks that surround town.

Trail View

A Look Across Ouray

Ouray

Hairpin Curve into Town

A little over half a mile from our starting point, the trail follows a minor side road but only for a few hundred feet before continuing on at another trailhead named Baby Bathtubs. There is a small amount of water running in the creek but we could definitely see lots of well worn rock carved out over hundreds of years and I suppose the pools that are formed might resemble small bathtubs. Nobody was relaxing in the pools although I did spot a small snake working his way along the side of the water. We come out of the creek bed and have another short stretch along a road but it’s a gravel forest access road and don’t expect to see traffic. It’s a bit of a climb and we come thru a beautiful meadow area as we reach the high point of the trail at 8500 feet. The views here are spectacular and we decide to enjoy it a bit and eat some of our lunch.

Entering Baby Bathtubs

Some of the Bathtubs

Snake!

Across a Meadow

Our Lunch Stop

We knew we needed to cross US-550 (dubbed the Million Dollar Highway) again which meant we had a 250 foot descent over a 1/3 mile of the trail. The trail does cross at a place with good sight lines for traffic so we get across safely and continue on down another gravel access road beyond a locked gate. According to the signs, we are heading into an area named the Ouray Ice Park. We cross a bridge over the Uncompahgre River which surprisingly has nearly no water flow yet sounds pretty impressive by camp which is 20 miles downstream. We catch a glimpse of a dam a few hundred feet upstream and then have a large pipe to climb over. This penstock must be carrying water from the reservoir behind the dam into town. It’s probably 4 feet in diameter but they have a set of metal stairs with railings to get up and over.

Dam on Uncompahgre

Not Much Flow

Penstock Crossing

The next 3/4 mile of the trail is generally downhill and follows the same path as the pipe. Most of the way, the pipe rests on platforms on the ground. But in areas where the side slope is quite steep, there are lots of cables anchored into the rock to keep the pipe from sliding down the side of the mountain. The pipe narrows down a bit and is 3 feet in diameter at another metal bridge that goes over it into the South Park portion of the Ice Park. At this point it still wasn’t clear to us what this Ice Park actually is. But a bit further down the trail, it becomes evident. We are in a valley between a mountain on the western side of the river and a large cliff along the eastern side. We notice a couple of people working their way up the side of the cliff on the other side of the river! We watch them for a few minutes thinking they must be crazy.

Follow That Pipe

Stairs to Ice Park

Climbers on Via Ferrata

Looks Fun?

The Ice Park is a Via Ferrata course. This is an Italian term which means “iron way”. It’s a rock climbing course where there are numerous cables, anchors and ladders attached to the side of the rock wall. In theory, it provides a secure and safe route for normal people to attempt rock climbing. The visitors have all sorts of protective gear which permits them to clip onto the safety cables and proceed up the course without the fear of falling to their death. A large sign at the main entrance to the course shows all the rules. I think we will pass.

Via Ferrata Rules

About 1/2 mile beyond the Ice Park, we enter the Box Canyon area. It’s where Canyon Creek runs through into town. There is a walkway down in the canyon that can be accessed at Box Canyon Park. It’s only a $5 per person admission fee but we decided to not head down into the park since we still have a lot of hiking to do before we get back to the car. We figure we can come back later in our stay (but we will never get there). A steel pedestrian bridge takes the trail over the water rushing below - 300 feet below. There is a fairly sturdy looking railing so Chris doesn't have issue crossing.

Another Hairpin Curve Into Ouray

Colorful Mountain

Bridge Over Box Canyon

Looking Upstream from Bridge

Looking Downstream

Looking Down at Rapids

On the far side of the bridge, the trail immediately enters a small tunnel through the side of the mountain. It might be 200 feet long and tall enough for me to walk thru without crouching. It’s also fairly straight so you can see light on the other side. Once out of the tunnel, you are faced with a very steep staircase that goes right along a rock wall on the left and a steep drop off to the right. A cable handrail makes the descent manageable. The trail then starts another long climb gaining 250 feet in less than half a mile. By now the legs are really stating to feel tired but some of the views make it worth the effort. We end up not far from the large sign for Box Canon.

Bridge Heads to Tunnel

Into the Tunnel

Down the Stairs

Another Ouray View

Box Canon Sign

The next section of the trail would actually be the hardest for us. It wasn’t just because we were getting tired by now but the trail is quite narrow at times and the loose dirt made our footing difficult on the downhill portion heading toward the bridge over Oak Creek. When your foot starts to slip, and there is a severe drop off if you don’t stop sliding, it can be a little nerve wracking. And it wasn’t just Chris feeling it, I was taking extremely small steps and using my hiking pole to avoid skiing down the cliff! It also didn’t help that we could see the continuation of the trail on the other side of the creek and it also looked to be a rather narrow trail in the middle of a nearly vertical rock cliff.

Heading Up Oak Creek Trail

Starting Down Challenging Section

Looking Across to Trail on Opposite Side

The bridge was a fairly substantial one and I spotted something in the framework underneath the deck. It turned out to be some sort of metal sculpture of a person on the side of the structure. I suspect that the majority of people walk over the bridge and never notice it.

Bridge Over Oak Creek

Artwork Under Bridge

As we work our way down the trail into town, we start to feel a bit more comfortable again simply because the drop offs are not quite so steep. The trail comes out onto Oak Street near a campground. If we had completed the Perimeter Trail we would have headed north, clip a portion of town before crossing the expressway and picking up the trail near the visitor center and back over to Cascade Falls. It’s about 1.1 miles for us to complete the trail but we also knew that much of that part of the trail was narrow and along a steep cliff like we just did. If we walk the streets thru town, it will still be 0.6 miles to the car so we would only be skipping about half a mile of the loop. We decide that’s the way we should go to not press our luck. It was a beautiful, tiring and scary hike at times but still an excellent one.

Made it Back into Ouray - Hooray!

After a well deserved day off to recuperate, we head up to Montrose for the Saturday farmer’s market. We never know what to expect with these types of things. Sometimes they turn out to be more of a craft show with very few fruit and vegetable vendors. This one turned out to be pretty decent and we got a lot of produce for some very reasonable prices. After the market, we head to the Montrose Botanic Gardens. It wasn’t a real large place but still quite nice and well maintained. We probably only spent 30 minutes or so to check the gardens out before heading out to find lunch.

Garden Artwork

Vibrant

Sunflower

Girl with Butterfly