Trail Review: Imogene Pass

We recently went on a trip to the San Juan Mountains of Colorado to run a couple of trails in the area over a few days. One of these trails was the famous Imogene Pass, which connects the town of Telluride, Colorado to Ouray, Colorado. This steep mountain pass reaches an elevation over 13,000 feet and is over 19 miles long. We did this trail with a group that consisted of one of our 5th Gen 4Runners, four 2nd Gen Tacomas, a 3rd Gen Tacoma, and a 1st Gen Tacoma.

Imogene Pass

Length: 19.5 Miles

Difficulty: Difficult

Imogene Pass is one of the most popular mountain passes in the San Juan Mountains. The trail starts on the north side of the town of Telluride at an elevation of 8,871 feet and climbs all the way to a height of 13,114 feet before descending back down into the town of Ouray. One important note about this trail is there are no real staging areas, so if you want to air down or do any other preparation before the trail, find an open parking lot in town so you can avoid the headache on the trail.

The Telluride side of Imogene Pass is a well maintained rocky road up to the Tomboy Mine. The Tomboy Mine site was founded in the 1800s and was operational up until 1927, there are ruins of old mining operations you can explore during this section of the trail as well as some information about the mine site. At this point the trail does become more difficult with more rock crawling and steep rocky steps. As you continue above the Tomboy Mine you will encounter a few tight switchbacks before finally climbing to the top of Imogene pass at an elevation of 13,114 feet. From here you can take in the breathtaking views of Telluride and Ouray and get pictures at the Imogene Pass sign before getting back on the trail and heading down to Ouray.

The Ouray side of the pass is more difficult than the Telluride side but can still be done in a stock Toyota 4Runner. As you head down from the top of the pass you will encounter a couple steep rocky steps that may require a spotter if you are not use to these types of conditions. Continue down the trail until you reach a spot called "Poser Rock". This is an area of the trail where many people "pose" their trucks on a rocky outcropping overlooking the valley.

 After taking a break, you will descend further into the valley where you will pass through a few river crossings. These crossings are not deep but can be higher during the early summer months so make sure to use caution when going through them. As you approach the town of Ouray the trail will split into two. The right side is the easier way out and turns into a well maintained dirt road back to Ouray. The left side is more difficult but the views make the rest of the trail worth it. We opted for the left side where we encountered more rocky steps and exposed rock surfaces. 

You will exit the trail on the Yankee Boy Mine Road which will take you all the way down to the town of Ouray. This is a well maintained dirt road with amazing views of the San Juan Mountains. 

Final Thoughts

Imogene Pass is one of our favorite trails in Colorado. There is nothing like driving your truck from the green valley of Telluride, past historic mining structures, all the way up to a height of 13,000 feet before descending through glacial cirques to the town of Ouray. This trail has a little bit of everything in a short 20 mile trip and the views of this small Colorado mountain range cannot be found anywhere else. I would recommend this trail to anyone visiting Colorado for the first time and if your 4Runner happens to be stock you can still safely run this trail if you take it slow and think about your lines. 

If you want to see more trail reviews on our blog, let us know in the comments and subscribe to our YouTube channel to see an upcoming video of this trip.