Location: San Juan Mountains
Difficulty: Easy
Directions: Go West on Highway 62 from Ridgway about 12 miles. Road sign is easy to see….turn left.
Time: about 2 hours, more if you stop for photos, and you should!
Trail Description
Last Dollar Road is an easy dirt road that is passenger car friendly, although after heavy rains, there are a few very muddy areas and it helps to have 4WD to get through them. But in dry conditions, this is suitable for a passenger car. For those of you looking to go offroading, don’t let this deter you from taking this road! The views are spectacular!
Much of the road roams through ranchland and old growth apsen groves. During the fall, this road is very popular for photographers because it is so scenic. This trail used to be used by Basque sheep herders and you may see carvings in the aspen trees from the 1800s, so be sure to take your time and look around. When you get above timberline and reach the summit, you will see Mount Wilson off in the distance as you head down and into Telluride. The road comes out near the Telluride Airport. After you pass the airport and get closer to Highway 45 (which will take you to Telluride if you turn left), be sure to take in the views of the old barns with Mount Wilson in the background. Get your camera ready!
We encountered a lot of rain during our visit to the San Juans in early August so our 4-wheeling was limited to Last Dollar and Yankee Boy Basin in a rental Jeep Laredo. I’d done Yankee Boy before, but had never been on Last Dollar Road. Rain limited the view, but we saw a herd of elk cows grazing in the meadow who started to move once they spotted us. We continued on and about the point at 2:15 in your video we had to stop as entire herd was crossing the road ahead, An amazing sight! And sound, as we could hear them calling to one another. Further along, we spotted four young bulls in a clearing. Last Dollar might not be a very challenging road, but a great place to get your feet wet. I would love to see it in fall.
Last Dollar can actually get quite swampy when it rains. It’s still an easy road though. It’s spectacular in the fall. Just amazing, that huge canopy of aspen over the road, oranges and yellows and reds…and leaves dropping onto you…pretty magical. My favorite road in the San Juans during the fall. I’ve had to wait for sheep to cross when I’ve driven the road. Don’t mind the wait though…took lots of photos… Thanks for writing.
In the mid 1990’s my wife and I spent four days in Telluride the third week of August. Loved it. One day we were in Quray and stopped at a store for pop and snacks. The store clerk could tell we were tourists and asked where we were headed. When we said Telluride, he smiled and asked if we had time for a scenic drive that would get us to Telluride.. We said yes and he pointed us to a road that looks a lot like the Last Dollar in your video. I recall parts of it were a two track, other parts had guys going in the opposite direction on dirt bikes looking at us like we were crazy. One area that I do remember, we had to do some three point turns to get around some switch backs before working our way down to the paved road near the airport. Once at the paved road we turned left and drove into Telluride. It was a beautiful drive with a great story, but we had no business being there in our burgundy Dodge Dynasty rent a car. Jeepstergal, is it possible that we were on the Last Dollar? Would you do it in a four door Dodge Dynasty? Love your videos. Can’t wait to get back to Telluride.
Richard
Hi Richard, yes, you were definitely on Last Dollar, as it dumps you out on the road next to the airport. My video “Drive through Downtown Telluride” begins at the airport, so you can watch that one and see the last part of this trip. I have seen passenger cars on this road when it’s dry. There are large puddles/streams to cross when it’s wet and you’d need higher clearance for those, as well as a low gear to pull yourself out of the mud…but if it’s dry, then a passenger car would probably be okay, I’ve seen several on that road. Thanks for watching!