Guided 4WD Tours

Choose your 4WD tour

Imogene Pass

8:00 am - noon
1:15 pm - 5:15 pm
Pricing from $115

Ophir Pass

8:00 am - noon
1:15 pm - 5:15 pm
Pricing from $115

Black Bear Pass

8:00 am - noon

Pricing from $130

Sunset Tour

6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Pricing from $85

4WD Tour Descriptions / Featured Tour Routes

Imogene Pass

Tomboy / Imogene Pass:  Tomboy Road climbs to Imogene Pass from downtown Telluride to a summit of 13,114 feet. Our half day trip to Imogene via the Tomboy Ghost Town is our single most popular tour, generally available from late June through September. Tomboy Road is an intermediate 4-WD road, bumpy and airy, but not as tricky as Black Bear Pass or other truly advanced routes. This is a well-suited trip for most customers. Kids, seniors and everyone in between enjoy the thrill of high country adventure and the colorful history of Telluride's most famous gold mine: Tomboy.

In addition to Tomboy, tour highlights include the "Social Tunnel," the summit of Imogene and the Red Mountain Overlook, which offers astounding views of the towering Weminuche Mountains to the east.

Early season variation:  In June, Tomboy Road typically opens to the ghost town a couple weeks before it clears all the way to the summit.  During this period, we’ll make a round trip to Tomboy (about ½ way to the pass), return to Telluride and head up the Bridal Veil Road for an up close and personal view of Colorado’s biggest waterfall, which is always cranking during peak snowmelt in June.

Ophir Pass

Ophir Pass/Alta Ghost Town:  Ophir Pass (11,789 ft) is well-suited to less experienced offroad travelers and those who seek the beauty of the high country in combination with a less rugged 4-WD experience. The pass road does include some classic "shelf road" sections with stunning views and the necessity of 4-WD maneuvering, but much less “exposed” terrain than Imogene or Black Bear.

We also commonly visit the Alta Ghost Town on this tour, a 4-mile excursion up a nearby Forest Service road. Alta (11,000 ft) is one of the best-preserved ghost towns in Colorado and the site of a classic post card photo opportunity: Wilson Peak as viewed from Alta.

During the gold rush, Alta became the first town in the world to utilize the modern technology of alternating current electricity. You'll learn about this and many other significant facts tracing their history to this eerie, abandoned townsite. As a bonus, our Ophir/Alta tour offers Telluride's best wildflower viewing in July and early August.

Black Bear Pass

Black Bear Pass: One of Colorado's most notorious offroad passes, Black Bear (12,840 ft) is recommended for thrill seekers and experienced 4-WD travelers. We offer Black Bear as a half day morning trip to avoid exposure to rain storms on slow-driving sections above treeline.

The tour begins by crossing Ophir Pass and driving north on Highway 550 to the beginning of one-way Black Bear Pass near the summit of Red Mountain Pass. After climbing the back side of Black Bear, we summit the pass and drop into Black Bear Basin, where wildflowers grow waist-high in late summer. We then negotiate Black Bear's notorious "stair steps," cross under Ingram Falls, and descend the breathtaking "switchbacks" of Telluride's box canyon headwall. The road becomes two-way at the top of Bridal Veil Falls, Colorado's highest waterfall (464 feet). We view Bridal Veil from many angles, including an astonishing straight-up view from the mist plume itself. Total tour time is approximately 4 hours.

Sunset Tour

Sunset Tours: Enjoy a relaxing evening of high country scenic touring on a Telluride Outside sunset tour. Popular destinations include the Alta Ghost Town, Last Dollar Road and Bridal Veil Falls, all spectacular places to enjoy the magnificent evening light that flows into our valley from the west, bouncing off clouds to bathe our peaks in alpenglow.

Telluride outside's guides

Our tours are so much more than a mere “drive in the mountains.”  There is simply no finer group of tour guides than the professional staff of Telluride Outside. These guys are so knowledgeable and people-friendly that they could entertain you for a whole tour without ever leaving Telluride.

Each of our guides brings personal touch and style to their tour. They share in common professional offroad driving skills, a love of Telluride's flora, fauna, mountains and mining history, and the born-with-it nature of a consummate host. They are fun-loving professionals, committed to your comfort and enjoyment of the tour.

Guide Photo Selection
4wd-tour-vehicle

Telluride Outside’s Touring Vehicles

Our “Jeep” tours are actually conducted in new model trucks customized for your safety, comfort and optimal viewing. Seats are heavily padded, suspension is beefed up and the cab is open so you may converse directly with your guide. Removable canopies provide shelter in all weather conditions without inhibiting the "open air" experience.  Vehicles are inspected daily, cleaned after every tour and maintained to scrupulous standards under regulation from  the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and Telluride Outside’s meticulous operating procedures.

4wd Tour Pricing

Adultchild (under 12)
Half Day Imogene/Tomboy$125$115
Half Day Black Bear$150$130
Half Day Ophir Pass/Alta Ghost Town$125$115
Sunset Tour$95$85

FAQs/advice from our experts

Mid-May through mid-October, varying per destination.  [SEASONALITY CHART]