Engineer Pass 4WD Trail
Near Ouray, Colorado

by Logan Phillips

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It was as rainy afternoon when we began Engineers Pass, located in the San Juan mountains. We started the pass from the east side, just outside Lake City. Engineers pass is not a hard core trail at all, any stock vehicle should be able the make it with out any problems. What Engineers Pass does offer is great scenery in the form of water falls, a small lake, and mountains. It was just me and my girlfriend on this trip in my 77 scout, which is moderately modified with tires, lift and lockers. We arrived in Lake City from Denver about 4:00 p.m. and began the trail, which starts almost right off the main road. It starts out as a fairly smooth dirt road with a few ups and downs. As the road climes higher it gets progressively rougher.

The first nice place to stop is Whitmore Falls. It is a large waterfall that can't be seen from the road and must be hiked down to. The very short and steep hike is well worth the effort to see the falls. From here the trail climbs through a forest of pines and crosses the stream. It was starting to get late in the day and we found a good camp site near Roses Cabin, an old mining operation off the side of the trail. The next day we finished the rest of the trail and got lots of pictures. There is never any really rough or rocky spot on the trail but 4 wheel is required because of the steepness and the high altitude. The last 1/4 or a mile or so of the road is fairly narrow on both sides. More narrow on the Ouray side, but nothing like black bear pass. Two vehicles could almost always pass each other. The summit offers great views in every direction. Many of the regions fourteeners are visible.

Descending the Ouray side wasn't any more difficult as climbing the other side. The road slowly descends back in to the trees and passes a small lake. After passing a large mine the roads starts to get a little rocky in places. Still not a problem for the stock vehicle though. After passing a waterfall on the right we began the final decent down to high way 550. This is the part of the road that gives engineers it's fame. The decent is fairly steep and quite narrow. Meeting a vehicle would require back up to pass. It is short though and at the bottom you end up right on highway 550 just out side of south of Ouray. I definitely recommend this road to anyone looking for some beautiful spots, and it is a great place to try out a stock vehicle and sharpen up driving skills. We had a great time on our trip in the San Juan's, later we did Black Bear Pass and Imogene Pass. We saw lots of wild life and got lots of pictures.

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