The 232 mile long San Juan Skyway forms a highly varied scenic loop through Cortez, past the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park, Durango, the "Million Dollar Highway" (US550) over Coal Bank Summit and the Molas Divide - picture (34KB), Silverton, Red Mountain Pass, Ouray, Ridgeway, Lizard Head Pass, Telluride, the Dolores River valley, very near the entrance to the Anasazi Heritage Centre and finally back to Cortez, including five passes over the Rocky Mountains, with many beautiful and in places breathtaking views of the San Juan range. The round trip takes a full day and is extremely highly recommended.
There are no charges for using the San Juan Skyway and the entire route is on paved roads.
This area would be an excellent choice if you don't want to drive long distances, or it could easily be combined with Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon and/or other parts of Colorado.
Although there is a road from Silverton and US550 just north of Ouray to Colorado 149 at Lake City, this is a unpaved road only suitable for four-wheel-drive vehicles.
There appears to be a road climbing up the mountainside from Telluride towards US550 at Red Mountain Pass but this isn't marked on the official Colorado state road map. If the road exists then it almost certainly is a unpaved road only suitable for four-wheel-drive vehicles.
