Route 550 Drive

July 04, 2012, 05:37:17 pm

Hi,

Someone here was recalling their experience driving route 550 (The Million Dollar Highway) in an RV. I thought I'd add a few more bits of information. Yes it's a pretty drive and certainly can be negotiated in a large vehicle. From Ouray heading south about 13 miles to Red Summit you'll encounter a low clearance tunnel at 13' 9" and just over 3K feet of elevation gain. On several sections of the southbound lane you'll have just inches of shoulder between your tires and a severe drop off. If traffic patterns were such that you were passing a large oncoming truck right at that point, I'd venture to say it wouldn't be a pleasant maneuver. I've not driven this road in the bus and wouldn't do so unless it was absolutely necessary. We've been up and down it many times on the dirt bikes and van, however. Also done the section from the 10K to 11K altitude signs on the mountain bikes which is about 4 miles. The road is much busier than it used to be years ago according to those living in Ouray.

Weather in that canyon can be extremely capricious and change within minutes. In bad weather, the worst areas are the bench cut sections of road where the terrain above is unstable. We got hit with a rock slide back in 2010 and were lucky to not get pushed off the road and over the cliff. Here's a slide show of the damage:

http://muniac.smugmug.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=13109544&AlbumKey=M6Qdh3 The last two frames show some extremes in weather and the effects of unstable ground during a different time. You can bet it's much more than a beautiful road.

Know before you go!

Best - Scott

2006 Allure 430 #31349
(Bus-Stead Lemon)

Re: Route 550 Drive

Reply #1 – July 05, 2012, 12:35:37 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 80704

I got more damage from hitting a dear crossing the road where the RR tracks cross 550 at the upper end

of the valley. I have driven South many years ago pulling an Airstream 34" travel trailer and a 36 dft CC

Allure. North in the Allure and a 42" Intrigue. North is much easier and if you have a classic Intrigue

the tunnels is not an issue at 11 ft 10". The only challenging part is the blind curve where the water

fall goes under the road a few miles south of Ouray.
TWI 2004 Intrigue 11731

Original Message:
-----------------

From: Scott scott@... Date: Wed, 04 Jul 2012 15:36:51 -0700 To: Country-Coach-Owners@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Country-Coach-Owners] Route 550 Drive

Hi,

Someone here was recalling their experience driving route 550 (The Million Dollar Highway) in an RV. I thought I'd add a few more bits of information. Yes it's a pretty drive and certainly can be negotiated in a large vehicle. From Ouray heading south about 13 miles to Red Summit you'll encounter a low clearance tunnel at 13' 9" and just over 3K feet of elevation gain. On several sections of the southbound lane you'll have just inches of shoulder between your tires and a severe drop off. If traffic patterns were such that you were passing a large oncoming truck right at that point, I'd venture to say it wouldn't be a pleasant maneuver. I've not driven this road in the bus and wouldn't do so unless it was absolutely necessary. We've been up and down it many times on the dirt bikes and van, however. Also done the section from the 10K to 11K altitude signs on the mountain bikes which is about 4 miles. The road is much busier than it used to be years ago according to those living in Ouray.

Weather in that canyon can be extremely capricious and change within minutes. In bad weather, the worst areas are the bench cut sections of road where the terrain above is unstable. We got hit with a rock slide back in 2010 and were lucky to not get pushed off the road and over the cliff. Here's a slide show of the damage:

http://muniac.smugmug.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=13109544&AlbumKey=M6Qdh 3

The last two frames show some extremes in weather and the effects of unstable ground during a different time. You can bet it's much more than a beautiful road.

Know before you go!

Best - Scott

2006 Allure 430 #31349
(Bus-Stead Lemon)

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