| Black Bear Pass | |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 12,840 ft (3,914 m) |
| Traversed by | Unpaved road |
| Location | San Juan / San Miguel counties, Colorado, U.S. |
| Range | Rocky Mountains |
| Coordinates | 37°53.9717′N 107°44.5783′W / 37.8995283°N 107.7429717°W / 37.8995283; -107.7429717 |
Black Bear Road or Black Bear Pass, and officially Forest Service Road 648, is a dirt road that starts from the 11,018-foot (3,358 m) summit of Red Mountain Pass on U.S. Highway 550 (between Ouray and Silverton) to Telluride, Colorado. The road crests at Black Bear Pass, elevation 12,840 feet (3,910 m), and descends over a set of switchbacks as it navigates the heights above Telluride. The road passes Bridal Veil Falls, the highest waterfall in Colorado. In 1975, the road was the subject of a spoken-word song and album of the same title by country musician C. W. McCall.
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Black Bear Road is open a few months of the year, from late summer (usually the last week of July) to early fall. The road is traveled only downhill from Red Mountain Pass — except for the annual Jeeper's Jamboree in which travel is reversed for one day only. The start of the trail was formerly marked along U.S. 550 with a sign that read:
TELLURIDE ➞ CITY OF GOLD 12 MILES - 2 HOURS YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE CRAZY TO DRIVE THIS ROAD - BUT IT HELPS JEEPS ONLY |
After repeated thefts of the sign, the local authorities stopped replacing it.
References
- ^ Mark L. Evans (11 July 2016). "The Infamous Black Bear Road". Narrow Gauge Circle.
- "Black Bear Pass". dangerousroads.org.
- ^ "Black Bear Pass Road #648". USDA Forest Service.
- "C.W. McCall – Black Bear Road". Discogs.
- "BUSHDUCKS COLORADO JEEP TRAILS WHEN ARE THEY PASSABLE? DATES FOR 2018". bushducks.com. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- "Black Bear Pass, one of the most intense mountain roads in CO".
External links
- Narrowgauge.org: The Infamous Black Bear Road — article with a collection of photographs.
- Bushducks.com open trails: Black Bear Road - with seasonal road open/closed listing.