Trip of the week: a spectacular road trip in southern Colorado
The San Juan Skyway is arguably ‘the most spectacular stretch of tarmac in America’
Most visitors to Colorado come for the Rocky Mountain National Park, or renowned ski towns such as Vail, Breckenridge and Beaver Creek. Less well known is the San Juan Skyway, far to the south, but it is perhaps “the most spectacular stretch of tarmac in America”, says Aaron Millar in The Sunday Times. A 236-mile loop through the San Juan Mountains, it commands consistently “celestial” views of 14,000ft peaks (hence “skyway”), and passes through some of the state’s most charming towns. A new initiative, the Inns of the San Juan Skyway, offers two- to ten-day self-drive or all-inclusive guided trips, with stays at historic hotels in the former mining settlements of Ridgway, Ouray, Silverton, Durango and Telluride.
The John Wayne classic True Grit was filmed in Ridgway in 1968, and the town is still like a film set, with its western-style saloons, “faded” firehouse and collection of 19th century trains. Nearby Ouray is known as the “Switzerland of America” for the amphitheatre of jagged summits in which it sits. Circling the town is a six-mile hiking path, the Perimeter Trail, with a metal cliff walkway that takes you “deep into the thunder” of the towering Box Canyon Falls. The vertiginous road onwards to Silverton offers perhaps the most “hypnotic” views of the entire route.
There are wonderful hot springs along the way, including a natural subterranean steam room near Ouray. At Mesa Verde National Park near Durango, there are more than 600 Native American cliff dwellings, which are around 1,000 years old – the best-preserved such site in America. And the most sublime of the five towns comes last. Tucked deep in a box canyon with “dragon-tooth” summits all around, Telluride and the hiking trails around it are almost “unreal” in their beauty.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A four-night trip costs from £1,470pp, half-board (coloradoskyway.com).
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The problem with 'Cool Girl Lit'
Talking Point Has the ultra-popular book genre gone too far in 'commodifying' women's vulnerability?
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
John Prescott: was he Labour's last link to the working class?
Today's Big Quesiton 'A total one-off' tributes have poured in for the former deputy PM and trade unionist
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Mary Poppins tour: 'humdinger' of a show kicks off at Bristol Hippodrome
The Week Recommends Stefanie Jones and Jack Chambers are 'true triple threats' as Mary and Bert in 'timeless' production
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Ed Park's 6 favorite works about self reflection and human connection
Feature The Pulitzer Prize finalist recommends works by Jason Rekulak, Gillian Linden, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 fantastic homes in Columbus, Ohio
Feature Featuring a 1915 redbrick Victorian in German Village and a modern farmhouse in Woodland Park
By The Week Staff Published
-
Drawing the Italian Renaissance: a 'relentlessly impressive' exhibition
The Week Recommends Show at the King's Gallery features an 'enormous cache' of works by the likes of Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael
By The Week UK Published
-
Niall Williams shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The Irish novelist chooses works by Charles Dickens, Seamus Heaney and Wendell Berry
By The Week UK Published
-
Patriot: Alexei Navalny's memoir is as 'compelling as it is painful'
The Week Recommends The anti-corruption campaigner's harrowing book was published posthumously after his death in a remote Arctic prison
By The Week UK Published
-
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: a 'magical' show with 'an electrifying emotional charge'
The Week Recommends The 'vivacious' Fitzgerald adaptation has a 'shimmering, soaring' score
By The Week UK Published
-
Bird: Andrea Arnold's 'strange, beguiling and quietly moving' drama
The Week Recommends Barry Keoghan stars in 'fearless' film combining social and magical realism
By The Week UK Published
-
Kate Summerscale's 6 favorite true crime books about real murder cases
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Helen Garner, Gwen Adshead, and more
By The Week US Published