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Black Bear Pass
From Dirtopia, The Off-Road Encyclopedia
 Photo: CAPTION | |
| Off-Road Information | |
| Other Names: | |
|---|---|
| Terrain: | 4x4/atv/dirtbike |
| Off-Road Use: | |
| Difficulty: | Moderate(6) |
| Camping: | {{{camping}}} |
| Geography | |
| County: | Ouray County |
| Nearest Cities: | Ouray, CO Telluride, CO |
| Map Links: | Google Map |
| Satellite Map: | {{{satlinks}}} |
| Special Map: | |
| GPS Coords: | 37.8966/-107.714 |
| Google Earth: | Black_Bear_Pass.kml |
| Climate: | |
| Area Size: | |
| Elevation: | |
| Last Visited: | {{{lastvisited}}} |
| Open/Closed/Date: | Closed - Nov 29 2007 |
| Season(s): | {{{seasons}}} |
Black Bear Pass is a difficult trail. Black Bear pass is a One-Way trail only from the Ouray side. I have heard that Telluride runs the trail backwards one day a year, this trail is very dangerous. There is a 900' cliff at the end and if you fall off you will most likely die. There is about one accident per year on this trail. You want to go do it late summer i.e. August, or September. I did it in my '99 4Runner with 3" lift and 33 inch tires, open diffs. Any aggressive stock SUV can probably do this trail, with an experienced driver with nerves of steel. Granted I have seen two people I know do it in their stock Jeeps, but those people have 30+ years experience each 4-wheeling Moab and the sort.
The trail itself isn't that bad at the beginning and through most of the trail, I would say it is moderate at best. The trail becomes progressively harder after the Black Bear Pass. Earlier I said that the trail is one way only, but that applies to the end of the trail where there is a very steep decent with very tight switchbacks, and a beautiful waterfall (which you can get to from Telluride in a car). Once you see Telluride below you are getting to the sign that states the one way only after that point.
It gets pretty steep, it was hard to walk down and up. I suggest you stop your vehicle and walk it to know where you will go. I suggest staying as close to the mountain side as possible. After the steep part, you will veer to the right. The first and second switchbacks are the tightest, after that it's just the cliff on one side and the mountain on the other. By no means, don't let this post scare you. This trail is one of the greatest scenery here in CO. Just use your head and don't go alone.
Once in Telluride there is a park where I like to eat lunch, gas stations and all that stuff. From here you can take Imogene Pass, or Ophir Pass back to Ouray. Imogene Pass is a great trail because it connects up to Yankee Boy Basin, as well as Governor basin. But the day we went Telluride was having a foot race on Imogene, from Telluride to Ouray. So, we took Ophir Pass back.
External Links
Maps and GPS Coordinates
A comprehensive list of GPS waypoints and tracks in Google Earth format can be found here: Black_Bear_Pass.kml
Black Bear Pass Coordinates: 37.8966° -107.714°
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Find nearby Geocaching locations
- Find this location with Google Earth
