If you have read anything else I have written about Montrose (links below if you haven’t yet), you already know the town itself earns a full stay. If you have an extra day with nothing locked in and looking for a beautiful drive. Then Owl Creek Pass Colorado loop is the one I would point you toward before anything else on the tourist maps.

It does not show up in the glossy magazine roundups of Colorado scenic drives. It is not on most road trip lists. That is because the travelers you encounter out here have made a deliberate choice to be somewhere most people are not. That changes the entire feeling of the place.

Before You Leave Montrose

Stop at Jireh Cafe and Bakery before you head out towards Owl Creek Pass, Colorado. Get something to eat and grab a drink for the road. This drive is worth doing and you will want something good in your hand for the first stretch.

Head out on Highway 50 east toward Gunnison and watch for the turnoff that takes you south toward Silver Jack Reservoir.

The Owl Creek Pass Colorado Drive In

The first thing that happens on this road is the landscape shifts on you, and it does it slowly enough that you almost miss the moment it changes.

You start in classic western Colorado high desert, dry and wide open, the kind of country that stretches in every direction and makes you feel small. Then the road pulls you up into the mountains and dense forest. There are trailheads branching off in different directions, worth exploring, depending on how much time and energy you have.

Even if hiking is not your thing, pull over at one anyway. Stand at the trailhead for a few minutes. You are in a high mountain forest that some I-70 travelers will never see.

Silver Jack Reservoir

Silver Jack Reservoir sits at the end of that forest stretch and it is beautiful in a quiet, unhurried way. There are campgrounds out here for people who want to stay longer, and cabins to rent if a tent is not your thing. The visitors you find at Silver Jack have generally made an intentional choice to be somewhere the crowds have not found yet.

If you are planning a fall trip through the Western Slope, keep Silver Jack in mind. The aspens turn gold here in late September and early October. The leaf peeping crowds that follow the color on the Front Range routes rarely make it this far west. You get the same brilliant gold with a much better experience.

When you are ready, the road continues east and starts climbing toward Owl Creek Pass. The transition happens gradually, the trees thickening, the air cooling, and the views opening up in ways that make the next stretch feel like a completely different drive.

Owl Creek Pass, Colorado

This is where I want to be upfront with you about what you are getting into.

The road gets narrow. There are stretches without guardrails and the drop-off on one side will remind you that you are in actual mountains, not driving through them. It is not the Million Dollar Highway, but it is not a Sunday cruise either. Take it at your own pace, stay aware of what is around the next curve, and you will be fine.

The views on the way up through the pass are worth every slow careful mile. When you start coming down the other side, the trees open up and the valley below appears all at once. Pull over here if you can. That is Ridgway, framed by the San Juans, and it earns a moment before you drive into it.

Ridgway

True Grit Cafe sits right downtown, named for the 1969 John Wayne film that was partly shot in this area. The food is good, the atmosphere is unhurried, and it is the kind of place where you sit down and realize you have been moving too fast.

Across the street is GNAR Tacos, which runs a different energy. The menu features Korean BBQ steak tacos and jerk seasoned portabella, while the space features skateboards on the wall and snowboarding on the TV. Both places are right downtown depending on where your afternoon has taken you.

After lunch, walk the areas in Ridgeway. The San Juans frame the whole town and on a clear day the view down the main street with the mountains behind it is the kind of thing you want to stand in for a while with a good drink in hand.

Practical Notes

The full loop from Montrose to Silver Jack to Owl Creek Pass to Ridgway and back takes most of a day. Build in more time than you think you need because the stretches where you want to pull over will add up.

Estimated driving times without stops: Montrose to Silver Jack is roughly 40 to 50 minutes. Silver Jack to Ridgway over Owl Creek Pass is another 45 minutes to an hour depending on road conditions and how often you stop. Ridgway back to Montrose on Highway 550 is about 25 minutes.

The Owl Creek Pass road is unpaved in sections and varies by season. Spring can be rough as snowmelt softens the road, so check conditions before you go. A standard vehicle handles it fine in good conditions. Bring water, snacks, and layers since the elevation change can be significant and mountain weather moves fast.

Fall is the best time for this drive, as you can see by my photos. Late September into early October for peak color, with far less traffic than the more famous San Juan routes during the same window.

Side roads. Local stays. The angle everyone walked past.

Check out my last two posts below:

• How to Plan a Colorado Ski Trip for 2026–27: What to Book First
• 15 Things to Do in Montrose, Colorado Beyond Black Canyon
• Ouray from Montrose: The Mountain Town Day Trip That Actually Works
• A Day Trip from Montrose Colorado: Cedaredge, Hotchkiss, Paonia, and Big B’s
• Best Day Trips from Montrose Colorado: Black Canyon, Ouray, Telluride and More

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