evelyntrav

We are planning on taking a jeep tour out of Ouray this July. Several are offered and there are both half-day and full-day guided tours. Have you ever done one of these? Which tour do you suggest? Are the wildflowers usually blooming July 8?

gb

I don't know about the Jeep Tours. But, wildflowers usually bloom from mid June to end of August. It 's just that they are not all out at the same time, and that they bloom at different times at different altitude. Typically, the largest displays of wildflowers are in mid July at elevation of 9000-1000 feet. This year could be very different due to early spring melt and low snowfall.
I think that most of the Jeep tours are good, and suggest ones that give information on historic activity and take you to a variety of areas.

travellyn

I don't know about specifics on the jeep tours, but based on what the area is like, the full day tour would probably allow you to see the most spectacular scenery, by getting you farther into the backcountry. I would imagine that you would also have more time to walk around - maybe fewer people on the tour.

July 8 is normally a great time for wildflowers, but we had so little snow this past winter that the displays won't be as lavish as usual. The mountain passes and basins are still going to be beautiful, though.

Have a great trip!

Alice Sullivan

One of the greatest experiences of our lives was our jeep trip out of Ouray. We took the one that goes over the Black Bear Pass to Telluride. You have lunch in Telluride and then return to Ouray. It takes all day but you will remember it the rest of your life. Our driver was Wild Bill, and he was just that.

Connie

You have two options. You can take a tour with a driver--usually in a Suburban with a big hole in the roof so you can stand up and look around. They do have a canvas top that they roll over in case of rain.

Or rent a small Jeep and drive yourself. Depends on what you prefer.

evelyntrav

Alice, since we will staying in Telluride later in the week, do you think the all day Black Pass jeep ride still makes sense for us? Did you make lots of stops along the way, or just sit in the van most of the time?

Connie, we will have had enough of driving on our own so we expect to do a guided jeep tour rather than drive ourselves. I think doing one tour will be good and two probably too much. Just can't decide between Yankee Basin half-day and Black Bear full day. I suspect that if the wildflowers are not in bloom because of the low rainfall, the Black Bear tour is probably better. Are the vehicles air conditioned?

Syv

Connie,

Does this jeep tour take you places you cannot go by small car?

What tour company was it & how did you reserve? Do they have an internet website?

Not from the States. Where is Ouray & what sites do you see along the way of this jeep tour? I assume it is OUTSIDE of the national parks?

Thanks for the informative posts on these fodor discussions. Learning lots to plan for my trip in 2003.

Syv

evelyntrav

Syv,

I haven't yet gone on a jeep tour but I have done some investigating of what is offered. The jeeps definitely go high in the mountain areas that would be impossible without a 4WD car. The internet sites I found are: http://www.soajeep.com and coloradowesttours.com. Another site that discusses one couples' personal experiences with jeeping is http://twenj.net/ouray.htm.

Dayle

The jeep tours that go out of Ouray are excellent, but some are not for the faint of heart. Most can be done in a regular 4x4, but some including the Black Bear to Telluride, use CUSTOMIZED 4x4s. They are the only vehicles that can make it.

I drove my Jeep Cherokee over Engineer Pass on a camping trip several years ago. We went up the east side which was quite gradual & could be pretty much done with any car. BUT - going down the west side into Ouray was the hardest thing I've ever done. Barely 1 lane wide & you're driving on nothing but scree (think cobblestones 4 feet deep without the cement). We had to go the whole way in 4x4 low gear, just crawling, plus brakes. It took us something like 2 hours to go just a few miles.

Take the tours & let the experts do the driving. You can enjoy the scenery!

travellyn

Black Bear is famous for being nearly impassable, even with a 4WD. There are parts of it like a staircase that the jeep has to negotiate. Definely a good tour activity. Dayle's descripton is pretty representative of most of the 4WD mountain roads here. Averaging even 10 miles an hour is usually impossible.

evelyntrav

Since I asked the question, I'll let you know what we experienced. Although we had pre-arranged a jeep tour out of Ouray, the driver forgot to pick us up at our hotel. Since we didn't like the town of Ouray and there wasn't anything else that appealed to us, we drove to Telluride. Stayed at a delightful B&B, really liked the historic town, and did manage to do a half-day jeep ride to Ophir Pass. It was just wonderful. Our guide gave us lessons on history, mining, fire prevention and problems, wildflowers, .... The ride and the view were awesome.

rqf

To SYV: Ouray is on rt.550 in Colorado. 550 is a scenic highway. Mesa verde National PArk is less than 100 miles from Ouray. Arches National PArk in Utah (MOab) is about 125 miles from Cortez Colorado which is 10 miles west of Mesa Verde. Monument VAlley is 150 miles from Cortez and about the same distance from Moab. The GRand Canyon is about 160 miles from MOnument Valley. LOts to see in the area which is called the Four Corners.