Black bear pass

What's a good route to do this pass? I want to do a one day ride on KTM 450s with a friend. Looking at a Lat40 map: Can I start in Silverton, go north on Route 550, turn right on Brookllyn Trail take it north untill it goes across route 550 and turns into Black Bear rd. After lunch & gas in Telluride take Bear Creek trail south untill it turns into Wasatch Trail, take Wasatch Trail to the end ,turn left "east" on Ophir Pass Rd then south on route 550 back to Silverton. What do you all think? Our 450s have stock gas tanks. Are we good or does anyone have a better route? Where can I park a truck & trailer in Silverton? Thank you all in advance. We will ride on Friday July 19th. Anyone want to join us? Any idea on mileage?

You should be able to park in the vicinity of the Kendall Mountain Rec area.....in front of the community center building, or at the bottom of the road up the mountain

Unless there has been a change I was not aware of, Wasatch isn't open for motos. The local trail group, PAPA, has been trying to work on getting it open, but that hasn't happened yet. Imogene is a great way to return to Ouray and then you can head back up 550 or get on the alpine loop, or return on Ophir, or make it longer and return via Bolam Pass which puts you out over by Durango Mtn Resort. East Fork Singletrack can be accessed just over Lizard Head pass, and it ends near the top of Bolam. That loop definitely has more slab than your original plan, but it is pretty fun. If you want more Singletrack closer to Telluride, the Wilson Mesa trail is open currently, runs from Ilium to Woods lake...

I was just out there last week and was staying in Ouray (Box Canyon Lodge) and did some of that stuff.

I did BB to Imagene in the morning and after lunch went on the other side of 550 to mess around. I did Engenieer to Poughkeepsie (against the recomended flow) messed around up in there and took Corkscrew back to 550. Great day out in the back country. The following day was only a 1/2er and I stayed close to Ouray and did some of Camp Bird Rd, Richmond Basin and Yankee Boy. You could spend 2 full days if not a 3rd exploring.
My last trail of the trip led to this stunning lake - great way to end!

As a flatlander I was floored by some of the vistas. About 4 times a day I would stand slack jawed admireing Gods effort. I'll be back.

Looks like I'll be changing my route. After Telluride, we'll go to Ouray via Imogene Pass, then south to Engineer Pass, then maybe Poughkeepsie or Alpine Loop east past Denver Lake, then make our way to Silverton. Then south on 550 to Old Lime Creek Rd, then take Hermosa Creek Rd and make our way to Rico. What do you all think?

Is this all one day?

You think it's too much for one day? If it is maybe we'll start and end in Silverton.

Do able in a day, bit it is kind of pretty up here and you may want to stop, look around, and maybe eat somewhere. I can easily make Ouray from telluride in about 45 mins over Imogene, about the same for silver ton to telluride over black bear, but that is not a sight seeing mellow pace, and if you haven't been here before, you will want to take advantage of a few of the photo ops. My fast trips were more like commuting, and I even prefer to take my time when I can up there...

Well, they can do the Baja 500 in about 9 hours, so yeah...it's doable. But like MaR said, you might want to stop once in awhile and enjoy the trip. Why the major rush to cover so much ground in one ride? In your updated route are you still starting/ending in Silverton or over in Rico/Telluride?

We are staying near Rico and riding singletrack with the NCTR club Sat, Sun & Monday on both sides of 145, Hermosa Creek & Calico. So I thought I would do a few cool Passes on Friday. I've never been to this area of Colorado yet, so I'm excited to ride there . Maybe we'll slab it up 145, cross over to Silverton past Ophir gas up, then to Telluride, to Ouray, then make our way back to Silverton then slab it back to Rico.
Should be a good day.

NCTR riders? Man, I wouldn't ride with that group...a bunch of unfriendly asshats!

Seriously though, if you're riding Rico ST with some of those folks, you might want to save a little of that Friday energy.

I'm still kind of confused, which is usual for me...no gas in Ophir, and no direct slab between silverton and Rico. Fastest would probably be Ophir and slab south to Rico, but Bolam is more fun IMO. Also, I think the only gas in Rico is 86 octane, last time I was there. Don't know if it is a major deal, but thought I would mention. I might see you out on Sunday. I was thinking of riding priest gulch/calico/winter trail, something like that...

Whats the miles to from Silverton to Rico (gas)?

32 miles via Ophir

How smooth or rough is Ophir rd from 145 to 550? Can you trailer bikes OK on Ophir road? It's just a rough jeep road I'll bet????

There's a tight hairpin on the Ophir Pass, which would make trailering a bit exciting. I'd not recommend it. It's a good dirt road on the east side, but gets rougher and tighter on the west side, above Ophir. There are a couple of rough spots this year on the west side this year.

Please drive with respect through Ophir... It's a quiet town with loads of kids and dogs running amok.

I don't know that I'd call it "just a rough jeep road"

The shelf you see in the distance is the road:








Red pickup in middle of this photo for scale:


Hope this helps.

p.s. you can youtube almost any colorado pass and find a video someone has taken going over it.

Does that mean it is not Sprinter friendly?

I think I could get the Sprinter over Ophir with fresh tires.

I seriously considered it when we were down there a couple of weeks ago.. but my BFG tires are on their last legs and I was worried about slicing a tire with all the sharp stuff on the west side.

Maybe I'll try it next time we're down. I'd only have to back up what... 8 miles or so if it didn't work?


p.s. yes.. I'd poop my pants on the shelf.. especially sitting up so high and looking down over the edge.

WOW!!! I can't wait to ride there next week. Thanks guys for all the info.