San Juan Skyway
Telluride to Cortez, Colorado

San Juan Skyway view of Mountains

As you leave Telluride, you'll cross 10,222 foot Lizard Head Pass. Along this stretch of road you'll pass so many impressive mountains, you'll never remember all their names. At least, I can't remember all their names.

So here's what I do know. I think the mountain above is Sunshine Mountain, or at least, it's near Sunshine Mountain, in between Telluride and Ophir...

San Juan Skyway view of Mountains

... and this one is about 10-15 miles south of the first, probably at Lizard Head Pass. If you can help me name them, feel free to email me.

San Juan Skyway view of Mountains

After passing by a blur of mountains, the San Juan Skyway heads downhill towards flatter land, around the city of Cortez. The sun set behind these hills, which appeared quite small compared to their San Juan neighbors.

Spend the night in Cortez. I decided to cover a little more distance (46
miles), and stop in Durango, but I paid a hefty price for it. The cheapest motel I could find in the tourist town was around $110. Cortez will almost definitely have cheaper rooms. In a pinch, you could also drive south into New Mexico, and stay in the Farmington area, for much less.

On the way to Durango, I passed up one attraction that's certainly worth seeing: Mesa Verde National Park. It's on my list of places I must see on a return trip, but until then, I'll direct you to the NPS website for a look at the park's ancient pueblo ruins and cliff dwellings.

From Cortez to Durango, take US Rte. 160. The entrance to Mesa Verde National Park is about 10 miles east of Cortez.

<< Previous
Colorado Hotels
Colorado Attractions Map
Request Free Brochures on Colorado
Next >>

Telluride: Bridal Veil Falls
Tomboy Road
Tomboy Ghost Town
Durango

Unaweep Tabeguache Byway
Thimble Rock & Driggs Mansion
Hanging Flume

Share your thoughts!

In order to better manage your comments, TakeMyTrip now uses Facebook to allow you to leave comments for other visitors to this page, and your friends. Please use the form above (you might need to log into your Facebook account first). If you have a message specifically meant for the website creator, send an email to feedback takemytrip.com. And don't forget to LIKE TakeMyTrip.com's Facebook page!

Day 5
<< Previous | Next >>

Follow TakeMyTrip on

The Hotel Telluride
229.00 - 269.00

Cortez Super 8 Motel
74.89 - 81.89

Cortez-Days Inn
80.99 - 114.99

National 9 Inn Sand Canyon -Cortez
48.60 - 76.00

Cortez Travelodge
52.01 - 69.01

Durango/Purgatory Super 8 Motel
95.88 - 115.88

Historic Strater Hotel Durango
175.00

Wyndham Durango
109.80 - 122.00

View this website's best photos in the Gallery

Colorado Travel
Photography Tours
Family Vacations
Hiking & Trekking Pkgs.

Keywords:
Colorado Telluride San Juan Skyway Lizard Head Pass Sunshine Mountain Ophir Cortez

San Juan Skyway Telluride to Cortez, Colorado

San Juan Skyway
Telluride to Cortez, Colorado