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).
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Thai fish pie with crispy turmeric potatoes recipe
The Week Recommends Tasty twist on the Lancashire hot pot is given a golden glow
-
Palestine Action: protesters or terrorists?
Talking Point Damaging RAF equipment at Brize Norton blurs line between activism and sabotage, but proscription is a drastic step
-
Trump's strikes on Iran: a 'spectacular success'?
In Depth Military humiliations 'expose the brittleness' of Tehran's ageing regime, but risk reinforcing its commitment to its nuclear program
-
Thai fish pie with crispy turmeric potatoes recipe
The Week Recommends Tasty twist on the Lancashire hot pot is given a golden glow
-
Lovestuck: a 'warm-hearted' musical with a 'powerhouse score'
The Week Recommends Team behind the hit podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno have created a hilarious show about a disastrous viral Tinder date
-
Outrageous: glossy Mitford family drama is full of 'fun, fashion and froth'
The Week Recommends Adaptation of Mary Lovell's biography examines the scandalous lives of the aristocratic sisters
-
F1: The Movie – a fun but formulaic 'corporate tie-in'
Talking Point Brad Pitt stars as a washed up racing driver returning three decades after a near-fatal crash
-
Lost Boys: a 'sobering' journey to the heart of the manosphere
The Week Recommends James Bloodworth examines the 'cranks and hucksters' making money through 'masculine discontent'
-
6 productivity-ready homes with great offices
Feature Featuring an office with a gas fireplace in Oregon and a shared workspace with wraparound windows in Massachusetts
-
Critics' choice: Carrying the flag
Feature The best barbecue in town, Bradley Cooper's cheesesteak restaurant, and more
-
Film review: Materialists
Feature Two suitors seek to win over a jaded matchmaker