Flying in/out to Ouray
Jul 3rd, 2006, 07:39 AM
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Flying in/out to Ouray
My husband and I want to go to Ouray area in August and would like to fly. What airport should we fly in and out of? Can we use Ouray as our base and do trips to Durango, Mesa Verde, etc. Or is driving the Million Dollar Highway something you would only want to do once? After reading the posts I wasn't sure how much time was involved in driving the million dollar hiway or if there are alternate routes? thanks for any help.
Jul 3rd, 2006, 10:14 AM
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Hi Dolphin,
The Million Dollar Hiway is a wonderful, scenic route and Ouray is a great place to visit with stunning scenery and a nice town feel to it.
However, based on what you want to see, I would base myself in the Durango area. If you would rather not be in town and in a quieter area, there is a very nice resort not too far north of Durango, but I am blank on the name of it. I haven't stayed there, but friends did two years ago and loved it. So instead of driving Ouray to Durango, Mesa Verde, etc., you could do a day trip to Ouray. We really enjoy the hot springs pook there. It is smaller and cheaper than the one in Glenwood, and much, much less crowded.
From Ouray to Durango over the Million Dollar Hiway is only about 75 miles. But this is a ride that takes a bit of time, especially if you want to stop to gaze or at Silverton to wander the old mining town.
An alternate route from Ouray is Lizard Head Pass (Hiway 146) which would take you by Telluride and down to Cortez and Durango. From Ouray it is about 160 miles to Durango, but it is a great alternate route. We like it better.
Can't help on the airports.
The Million Dollar Hiway is a wonderful, scenic route and Ouray is a great place to visit with stunning scenery and a nice town feel to it.
However, based on what you want to see, I would base myself in the Durango area. If you would rather not be in town and in a quieter area, there is a very nice resort not too far north of Durango, but I am blank on the name of it. I haven't stayed there, but friends did two years ago and loved it. So instead of driving Ouray to Durango, Mesa Verde, etc., you could do a day trip to Ouray. We really enjoy the hot springs pook there. It is smaller and cheaper than the one in Glenwood, and much, much less crowded.
From Ouray to Durango over the Million Dollar Hiway is only about 75 miles. But this is a ride that takes a bit of time, especially if you want to stop to gaze or at Silverton to wander the old mining town.
An alternate route from Ouray is Lizard Head Pass (Hiway 146) which would take you by Telluride and down to Cortez and Durango. From Ouray it is about 160 miles to Durango, but it is a great alternate route. We like it better.
Can't help on the airports.
Jul 3rd, 2006, 10:28 AM
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"My husband and I want to go to Ouray area in August and would like to fly. What airport should we fly in and out of? "
Are you flying your own plane or commercially? There aren't any major airports that are real close. Grand Junction is probably a couple hours away. Albuquerque and Denver are probably the closest big airports. It really depends on how much money you're willing to spend on flights - I would think Denver is the cheapest option, but Albuquerque is closer.
Are you flying your own plane or commercially? There aren't any major airports that are real close. Grand Junction is probably a couple hours away. Albuquerque and Denver are probably the closest big airports. It really depends on how much money you're willing to spend on flights - I would think Denver is the cheapest option, but Albuquerque is closer.
Jul 3rd, 2006, 12:07 PM
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Sorry, I should have stated we would be flying out of St. Louis on a commercial airline.
So, Alburquerquie is closer to Durango/Ouray than Denver? That may be an option.
I checked flights at surrounding small airports(Montrose/Telluride/Durango) and wow, are they expensive.
And you think staying in Durango is a better option?
thanks to all
So, Alburquerquie is closer to Durango/Ouray than Denver? That may be an option.
I checked flights at surrounding small airports(Montrose/Telluride/Durango) and wow, are they expensive.
And you think staying in Durango is a better option?
thanks to all
Jul 3rd, 2006, 12:54 PM
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Drive between Ouray and Durango is one of the most spectacular sites we have seen.
We went to Telluride, delayed booking, and had to fly into Durango - thought we had goofed. However, it was the best thing we did.
Drove to Telluride via towns of Cortez and Delores. Beautiful, easy drive, got to see Elk up close at an Elk farm, etc. (Did not have time to do Mesa Verde).
Telluride is an awesome little town, great restaurants (Floradora our fav), etc.
From Telluride, drove to Durango via Ridgway, Ouray, and Silverton. A few miles of the road between Ridway and Ouray scared me silly but it was still awesome. You will love the drive between Ouray and Silverton but you may want to consider looping around through Delores and Telluride on your way there to see the sites it offers.
We went to Telluride, delayed booking, and had to fly into Durango - thought we had goofed. However, it was the best thing we did.
Drove to Telluride via towns of Cortez and Delores. Beautiful, easy drive, got to see Elk up close at an Elk farm, etc. (Did not have time to do Mesa Verde).
Telluride is an awesome little town, great restaurants (Floradora our fav), etc.
From Telluride, drove to Durango via Ridgway, Ouray, and Silverton. A few miles of the road between Ridway and Ouray scared me silly but it was still awesome. You will love the drive between Ouray and Silverton but you may want to consider looping around through Delores and Telluride on your way there to see the sites it offers.
Jul 3rd, 2006, 01:00 PM
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Did not read it carefully - I probably would not use Ouray as my base - I felt like it was fairly far from other things to be driving back and forth. Would it be possible to divide your time and stay in different towns for a night or two?
Jul 3rd, 2006, 01:52 PM
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lvsun-posted a reply but don't think it posted.
Did you stay in Durango or Telluride?
Where did you stay and did you like your accommodations?
So flying into Durango is good and it is not bad getting around from there?
thanks
Did you stay in Durango or Telluride?
Where did you stay and did you like your accommodations?
So flying into Durango is good and it is not bad getting around from there?
thanks
Jul 3rd, 2006, 02:04 PM
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As a resident of this area, I hope I can help.
As far as airport is concerned...you can fly from Denver to Durango, but it is costly. You can drive from Denver to the area, but it will take a good 6 hours. IMHO, your best bet is to fly into Albuquerque and then drive the 3 hours to Durango. Of course, all of this depends on where you are coming from and what airline you want to fly. Southwest is best for ABQ...United from Denver to Durango. To Denver...depends on where your are flying out of.
As far as a base is concerned...definitely not Ouray. Depending on how long your are staying...Your best bet would be to stay a few nights in Durango. Then I would head west to Mesa Verde [see my postings on this] for the day - it is a 30 minute ride to the entrance of Mesa Verde. The park is another 20 miles in.
Stay in Cortez that night. Next day, visit the Indian Cultural Center in Cortez, then head north on RT 145 towards Telluride. It will take you 1 1/2 hours to drive to Telluride. On the way, stop at the Anasazi Culture Center, which is just outside of Cortez [take RT 184 for a couple of miles].
Spend the rest of the day in Telluride. There are shops to see and pretty scenery. There are lots of places to hike if that interests you. Spend the night in Telluride.
Continue on to do the Million Dollar Highway. Stop in Ouray, go to Box Canyon Falls, maybe go to the hot springs pool, have a nice meal and spend the night.
Next morning, continue on the Million Dollar Highway [which is actually called Rt 550] into Silverton. Spend some time poking around there. Continue drive back to Durango.
We just did the Million Dollar Highway as a one night get away. If was really nice. Also, if you go in this direction, you are going downhill for the steep parts of the road and will be on the inside of the road, away from shoulder if that is a concern.
Read this article, it should be helpful http://tinyurl.com/qzmhm
I'd be happy to suggest hotels and restaurants if you'd like.
Also, there have been a lot of posts recently on this topic. Try using the search feature on the top of this page. Type in Ouray and see what comes up.
Hope this helps...
Debi
As far as airport is concerned...you can fly from Denver to Durango, but it is costly. You can drive from Denver to the area, but it will take a good 6 hours. IMHO, your best bet is to fly into Albuquerque and then drive the 3 hours to Durango. Of course, all of this depends on where you are coming from and what airline you want to fly. Southwest is best for ABQ...United from Denver to Durango. To Denver...depends on where your are flying out of.
As far as a base is concerned...definitely not Ouray. Depending on how long your are staying...Your best bet would be to stay a few nights in Durango. Then I would head west to Mesa Verde [see my postings on this] for the day - it is a 30 minute ride to the entrance of Mesa Verde. The park is another 20 miles in.
Stay in Cortez that night. Next day, visit the Indian Cultural Center in Cortez, then head north on RT 145 towards Telluride. It will take you 1 1/2 hours to drive to Telluride. On the way, stop at the Anasazi Culture Center, which is just outside of Cortez [take RT 184 for a couple of miles].
Spend the rest of the day in Telluride. There are shops to see and pretty scenery. There are lots of places to hike if that interests you. Spend the night in Telluride.
Continue on to do the Million Dollar Highway. Stop in Ouray, go to Box Canyon Falls, maybe go to the hot springs pool, have a nice meal and spend the night.
Next morning, continue on the Million Dollar Highway [which is actually called Rt 550] into Silverton. Spend some time poking around there. Continue drive back to Durango.
We just did the Million Dollar Highway as a one night get away. If was really nice. Also, if you go in this direction, you are going downhill for the steep parts of the road and will be on the inside of the road, away from shoulder if that is a concern.
Read this article, it should be helpful http://tinyurl.com/qzmhm
I'd be happy to suggest hotels and restaurants if you'd like.
Also, there have been a lot of posts recently on this topic. Try using the search feature on the top of this page. Type in Ouray and see what comes up.
Hope this helps...
Debi
Jul 4th, 2006, 01:10 PM
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Dolphin,
We stayed in Telluride for 4 nights at the Inn at Lost Creek. It is pricey but is beside the Gondola and the shops& restaurants of Mountain Village.
At Telluride, you can stay in the town or in Mountain Village which is up on the mountain - there is a free gondola which takes you to & from the town of Telluride. We were there for a Festival and the area was packed - do not know if prices are lower in August.
Some other couples we spoke with stayed at The Peaks - they really liked it and their rooms were half the cost. I see where the Peaks is having a $99 Summer special now.
Mountain Village pretty much closed down (except for a couple restaurants) at 6pm so I would consider staying in town.
If you stay in Telluride - be sure to do the hike to the falls that is at the end of Pine street. Relatively easy hike and the site is inspiring.
Just stayed in Durango for 1 night - caught a plane early next AM. Stayed at the Holiday Inn - was not impressed but was not bad. There are a zillion hotels in Durango - none I saw really impressed me. There were a couple nicer ones but they were on the main street among all the shops, etc. I would probably stay at the Doubletree or one of the resorts out of town.
I strongly, strongly agree with Debit as far as making the loop and staying in different towns along the way. You will wear yourself out basing in Durango, Ouray, or etc. then driving back and forth to the different places.
Having said that, Durango struck me as being a real tourist town. It is nice and a good base for fun things to do there. But it is not the kind of thing we like to do - I would do the trip suggested by Debit in a heartbeat.
As to flying to Albuquerque and then driving the 3 hours to Durango - I think that is too much driving for me. I would probably shell out the extra bucks for the flight to Durango.
From Durango to Telluride going through Cortez and Delores took about 2-2 1/2 hours. Trip from Telluride to Durango going through Ridway, Ouray, and Silverton takes about 3 hours (but we stopped a lot on the way).
We stayed in Telluride for 4 nights at the Inn at Lost Creek. It is pricey but is beside the Gondola and the shops& restaurants of Mountain Village.
At Telluride, you can stay in the town or in Mountain Village which is up on the mountain - there is a free gondola which takes you to & from the town of Telluride. We were there for a Festival and the area was packed - do not know if prices are lower in August.
Some other couples we spoke with stayed at The Peaks - they really liked it and their rooms were half the cost. I see where the Peaks is having a $99 Summer special now.
Mountain Village pretty much closed down (except for a couple restaurants) at 6pm so I would consider staying in town.
If you stay in Telluride - be sure to do the hike to the falls that is at the end of Pine street. Relatively easy hike and the site is inspiring.
Just stayed in Durango for 1 night - caught a plane early next AM. Stayed at the Holiday Inn - was not impressed but was not bad. There are a zillion hotels in Durango - none I saw really impressed me. There were a couple nicer ones but they were on the main street among all the shops, etc. I would probably stay at the Doubletree or one of the resorts out of town.
I strongly, strongly agree with Debit as far as making the loop and staying in different towns along the way. You will wear yourself out basing in Durango, Ouray, or etc. then driving back and forth to the different places.
Having said that, Durango struck me as being a real tourist town. It is nice and a good base for fun things to do there. But it is not the kind of thing we like to do - I would do the trip suggested by Debit in a heartbeat.
As to flying to Albuquerque and then driving the 3 hours to Durango - I think that is too much driving for me. I would probably shell out the extra bucks for the flight to Durango.
From Durango to Telluride going through Cortez and Delores took about 2-2 1/2 hours. Trip from Telluride to Durango going through Ridway, Ouray, and Silverton takes about 3 hours (but we stopped a lot on the way).
Jul 5th, 2006, 07:15 AM
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Thanks everyone for all your great suggestions. Just what I needed to decide whether to base somewhere or to just spend few days along the "loop" you guys suggested. That seems the way to do it, or as you put it lvsun we would be worn out going back to one place all the time.
Actually the airfare is only about $200 difference from St. Louis to Durango as compared to Alburquerquie so it may well be worth it.
Also thanks debitnm for the tip on driving on the inside lane from Ouray to Durango. That was definitely a question I had, as my husband has a great fear of heights esp. on mnt roads.
Actually the airfare is only about $200 difference from St. Louis to Durango as compared to Alburquerquie so it may well be worth it.
Also thanks debitnm for the tip on driving on the inside lane from Ouray to Durango. That was definitely a question I had, as my husband has a great fear of heights esp. on mnt roads.
