Riding into the southwestern corner of Colorado, coming in from Utah, New Mexico or Arizona, the changes are not as drastic as what you get from the other side of the Centennial State. Coming in from the north-east, you ride through bean fields for a billion miles before, in the distance, you start to see glorious mountains slowly emerging from the horizon, mile after mile. But coming in from the other corner, you’re already in spectacular desert or mountain country, with some of the most breathtaking landscapes of the continental 48 states. 

But don’t feel bad about leaving the Martian landscape behind. As you leave the red sandstone for the gray San Juan Mountains, excellent riding lies ahead, starting with the Million Dollar Highway.

While the Million Dollar Highway is technically only considered to be the stretch between the old silver mining towns of Ouray and Silverton, the run from Silverton to Durango is also very, very fun and included in the good times along Route 550. Photo: Kris Wiktor/Shutterstock.com

Big money road 

The Million Dollar Highway is so-called because some sections supposedly cost a million dollars a mile to build back in the 1920s—back when a million dollars actually bought you something for your money. Now, that money would only buy a traffic light or two. 

The Million Dollar Highway snakes through the lowest sections of the Colorado Rockies, and the views are as spectacular as the curves of the road. Photo: Matt A. Claiborn/Shutterstock.com

The Million Dollar Highway is the nickname for a 25-mile section of Route 550, a two-lane road through the mountains of southern Colorado. The route started as a toll road in the 1880s and pieces were added here and there over the next 40 years. Early sections of the route were rebuilt in the 1920s and in 1926, Route 550 was added to America’s federal highway system—so says Wikipedia, at least. For a good overview of the route’s history, you should head there and read that article.

The scenery in the area includes a lot of old mining infrastructure, although you might have to get off the highway and onto side roads or gravel tracks to find some of it. Photo: Richard Seeley/Shutterstock.com

But to really enjoy the route, you just need to get there on a bike, preferably one that can handle some bumps and some aggressive cornering. And you need to plan your arrival time carefully. Show up too early in spring (like I did) and there will be delays as you wait for road crews to clean up winter landslides. Also, when I was there in mid-May, I found the scenery was disappointingly dead, with trees and plants not really greened up yet. And it was cold! 

Staci Wilt at Ride to Food says the summer scenery along the Million Dollar Highway is beautiful and so is the fall foliage, but beware! Leaf-peeping tourists can clog the road up on weekends in the fall. Maybe you’re out for a slow tootle, and that’s OK with you. But if you’re up here to ride aggressively, you don’t want those delays. 

The Million Dollar Highway is one of the most interesting motorcycle roads I’ve ever been on because it combines tight corners with interesting terrain–including lots of dangerous drop-offs. There are some stretches where, if you went over the edge, they’d need a helicopter to find you, because you’d never be spotted otherwise. There’s a lot of gorgeous scenery along this route, but you will have to choose between stopping to gawk or riding hard.  

Add in some extreme elevation changes, and you’ve got a road well worth visiting. And at the northern end, when you arrive in Ouray, you’re in the Switzerland of America (or so says the sign). Ouray is one of those unique towns that sprung up in the western mountains during the mining booms and survived the decades of economic malaise since, with beautiful old-fashioned buildings everywhere and a tourism-based economy today. You could easily spend a lot of time and money here; depending what kind of rider you are, this could just be a quick stop along the way, or maybe a destination. 

But wait, there’s more! 

The Million Dollar Highway is fun street ride, but what if you want to ride off-road? I was on a Dyna when I visited the area, so hitting the dirt was out of the question. But other ADVrider inmates have posted their off-road adventures in the area. See here for one example; you’ll find lots more in the forum!