Imogene Pass

4.9/5 (134 reviews)
Telluride, Colorado (San Miguel County)
Last Updated: 12/19/2022

Trail Information

Highlights

Altitude
Forest
Ghost Town
Iconic
Mine
Overland
Scenic
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. 


The trail is extremely narrow in sections with limited passing opportunities. 

Trail Reviews

4.9/5 (134)
Official Crew
27400
Impassable
Visited: 10/23/2022

A recent winter storm in the Ouray/ Silverton area has dropped a measurable amount of snow and high winds have been in the area. Some high country routes in the area may be passable but high country travel is not recommended.
500
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 10/21/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

As beautiful the scenery is the danger also is equal. Made it to the top on a stock 4Runner with a tent on top ( high center of gravity) and KO2s using 4low most of the way up. Witnessed a suv roll off the mountain pass the summit … the driver jumped out before it did. Pass the summit, if you want to continue the trail you should consider the following; compacted ice on the road , no traction to go down on the trail - pretty much a slide off the cliff . Passed the guide and he told me that they will close the trail on Saturday.
1300
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 09/29/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

One of the most scenic trails in the area with tons of old mining stuff to check out. probably best starting from the Telluride side and watch out for the jeep tour outfits, they drive a bit crazy. Since its a pretty long and rocky trip airing down is pretty much mandatory in order to save the kidneys and not shake up the cold adult beverages. Using your low range gearing for the major climbs and descents will save your brakes and your coolant temps. There is usually a traffic jam at the tunnel for the gram but just stay right since it is a two way trail. The back side can be said to be the toughest part of the trail for stock rigs once you get down into the timber as there arent many bypasses for some of the off camber obstacles so just be squared up to your obstacle before hitting them.
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 09/19/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Imogene is one of my all time favorite trails and it didn't disappoint! The views are always amazing and I was impressed to see the work that has been done on the bridges! Definitely less sketchy than they were the last time I ran this trail!
Official Crew
27400
Open
Visited: 09/14/2022

Operations to clear the vehicle from the Drinking Cup area of Camp Bird Rd should be completed. Please be aware that emergency vehicles may still be present in the area.

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