Black Bear Pass
Black Bear Pass (Telluride, CO)
Black Bear Pass is a well known trail that seems to be on every four-wheelers list of places to go. It has a reputation of being pretty scary on it’s descent into Telluride, however in my opinion it did not live up to that reputation. While there is one or two places that look a little sketchy, they didn’t bother me one bit when I drove through. However, the great scenery and views along this trail do live up to it’s reputation. I highly recommend driving this trail if you get the chance!
The trail starts out near Red Mountain Pass on US 550 and takes off up Mineral Basin. This basin offers some great scenery including wildflowers and a few small waterfalls. Eventually you climb up to Black Bear Pass at an elevation of 12,840 feet. From that point you head down into Ingram Basin and follow some shelf roads where you will pass Ingram Lake and Black Bear Mine. This is the area where you will get your first views of Telluride down below.
When you start the final and steep descent into Telluride, you will have to drive down an area called ‘the Steps’. This is a very steep and narrow section of road next to Ingram Creek that looks pretty scary as you approach. However, looks can be deceiving and this section is not as bad as it looks. There still is not much room for error here. Once past the Steps, you will cross Ingram Creek and start down the switchbacks into Telluride. The top three switchbacks are pretty tight, but I was able to navigate them with 3-point turns in my Cherokee. The lower you get, the easier the switchbacks get.
Black Bear Pass makes for a great day of wheeling when combined with Imogene Pass.
Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from Black Bear Pass below.
Black Bear Pass KML Track
(Right click and ‘Save Target As’)
Open file above in Google Earth.
