Imogene Pass

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4.9/5 (165 reviews)
Telluride, Colorado (San Miguel County)
Last Updated: 09/18/2023

Trail Information

Highlights

Altitude Category Icon Altitude
Forest Category Icon Forest
Ghost Town Category Icon Ghost Town
Iconic Category Icon Iconic
Mine Category Icon Mine
Overland Category Icon Overland
Scenic Category Icon Scenic
Water Category Icon Water

Imogene Pass offers gorgeous scenery and traversing backcountry rich in mining history, offering an opportunity to look back into time and relive what it would have been like to live and work in harsh alpine mining environments. Huge mining structures and machines are plentiful along what was once the richest gold and silver mining area in Colorado. Book-ended by the beautiful towns of Telluride and Ouray at either end of the trail, it is no wonder this is a Jeep Badge of Honor Trail. 

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Imogene Pass is a straight-through route connecting San Miguel County and Ouray County, crossing an elevation of 13,114 feet.

Ascending from the quaint little town of Telluride, aspen trees surround the rocky dirt road. The road is narrow, but there are a number of places to get past oncoming traffic. On the way to Tom Boy Mine and the summit, the trail becomes a narrow and intimidating shelf road.

The trail is rocky and bumpy downhill from the summit, with a few optional obstacles. This portion of the trail is the most challenging for those driving from Ouray to Telluride, east to west. The views in this area are beautiful. The trail has a few water crossings as it descends into the valley. The trail passes through a dense forest before intersecting with Camp Bird Road. 


Trail Reviews

4.9/5 (165)
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Official Crew
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122850
Open
Visited: 09/18/2023

Trail is back open again per San Miguel County officials.
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Official Crew
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41800
Temporary Closure
Visited: 09/16/2023

Imogene Pass is temporarily closed due to a washout and will remain closed until at least Monday 9/18.
Open
Visited: 09/16/2023

Imogene Pass Road closed on 9/15 due to washout. No date for reopening is provided on San Miguel County web site.
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 09/12/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Absolutely must do if you're in the area, it's fun and BEAUTIFUL. Did Telluride to Ouray, rained on the way up and back down. Stock Xterra Pro-4X did it no issue, not a challenging trail if you have a little experience but enough to be interesting, beginners need to take their time. If you have something with a long wheelbase or long overhangs you may scrape a bit in places. Lockers not neccessary, only lifted a tire a few times and that was mostly by choice for some fun and traction control kept me going. As many do, met a nice group of people at the top and hung with them the rest of the time.
Trail Review: Imogene Pass - Sean Allen
Trail Review: Imogene Pass - Sean Allen
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Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 09/05/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Unbelievable views throughout this trail, it is truly an iconic off-road experience. We ran it from Telluride towards Ouray and found a few spots with rock ledges but nothing very difficult. On the descent we ran 4-Lo to control our speed and maintain our brakes. The east side of the trail seemed to have more rock ledges but there were bypasses for the more difficult ones. If you're in this area this is a must-see and must-do!

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