Ouray/Silverton CO – Porphyry Gulch is a very scenic, short, steep, narrow, and for the most part easy route. It gains a moderate rating because of some long sections of shelf road without room for passing, with steep drop offs. Meeting up with another vehicle will require someone backing up until a passing area is reached. The shelf section can be intimidating for novice drivers. Those who make the trip up Porphyry Gulch are rewarded with stunning vistas, including nearby Red Mountain.
Driving up Porphyry Gulch
Heading onto the shelf road section
Looking back at the shelf road
Incredible vistas from the route
View of Red Mountain on the descent
Don’t drive off the shelf road, its a long way down
The route used to be 2.8 miles, but the last 0.3 miles was blocked off with large boulders when we were there. This last section still held quite a bit of snow, but from what we could see, it appeared there had been some large washouts that probably caused the closure. From the closure you can hike to the high alpine Bullion King Lake. You may want to wait until the trail melts out or plan on bringing Yaktrax or other similar traction aide. We hiked part way before the snow turned us back. Also, be aware of snow bridging and the dangers of falling through in early summer. The water traveling under the snow near the route closure drops over an edge and falls at least 40 feet, not a fall I want to make.
The last 0.3 mile was blocked off by boulders
There was still quite a bit of snow in late June
We spotted these marmots from the route
Amazing views in all directions
Porphyry Gulch is accessed by Bullion Lakes Road #65 (aka FS 822), a moderate 4-Wheel-Drive route located off of Highway 550 about 13.5 miles south of Ouray and 9 miles north of Silverton. The route is unsigned but is next to a yellow “Falling Rocks” sign about half a mile after milepost 80. We use Charles A. Wells and Matt Peterson’s “Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel -Drive Trails” to find routes and their trip descriptions along with valuable waypoint information.
During this trip to Ouray we also traveled on Last Dollar Road, Ophir Pass Road, Alta Lakes Road, Corkscrew/Hurricane Pass/California Gulch, and Placer & Picayune Gulches. We hiked the Ouray Perimeter Loop, Wetterhorn Basin Trail in the Uncompahgre Wilderness, Blue Lakes Trail in Mount Sneffels Wilderness, a section of the Colorado Trail/Continental Divide Trail from Stony Pass, and the Highland Mary Lakes Loop in the Weminuche Wilderness. We stayed at the Ouray KOA but there are some other RV camping options in the region. During earlier trips we have driven Engineer, Cinnamon, and Imogene Passes.
