At a Glance
- Summit Elevation: 12,588 ft
- Difficulty: Moderate to difficult
- Character: Remote — light traffic
- Access Point: South of Silverton
- From Ouray: ~40 min to Silverton
- Season: Late July – September
The Road Nobody Knows
While Engineer, Imogene, and Black Bear draw the majority of San Juan 4WD traffic, Stony Pass offers comparable terrain with a fraction of the vehicles. The road crosses the Continental Divide at 12,588 feet south of Silverton, passing through the headwaters of the Rio Grande on its eastern descent. The terrain is high, open, and genuinely remote by Colorado standards — long stretches with no other vehicles in sight.
From Silverton, Stony Pass is accessed via Cunningham Gulch Road. The upper approach crosses significant terrain above treeline with views extending across the southern San Juans. For visitors who've done Engineer and want something less trafficked, Stony Pass delivers.
From Ouray
The Silverton approach is 40 minutes south of Ouray on US 550 — an easy positioning drive for a day exploring the southern reaches of the San Juan 4WD network. Silverton itself makes an excellent lunch stop; the town retains much of its 19th-century character and has several restaurants serving the mining-town aesthetic it was built on.