The full loop, starting where the Engineer Pass road from US 550 meets it: through Animas Forks, over Cinnamon Pass, along Highway 149 through Lake City, and back over Engineer Pass. The Alpine Loop is a moderate 48.9-mile off-road loop in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, linking Ouray, Lake City, and Silverton over Engineer and Cinnamon passes, topping out at 12,799 ft. It is usually open late June to mid-October.
Know before you go
- Animas Forks → · Ghost townMile 2.0
Animas Forks is a mining-era ghost town about 12 miles northeast of Silverton, at about 11,200 feet.
- Cinnamon Pass · 12,641 ftMile 4.2
- Lake San Cristobal → · LakeMile 23.9
Lake San Cristobal is a natural lake a few miles south of Lake City, at 9,003 feet.
- Highway 149 stretchMile 27.3
Side-by-sides can ride Highway 149 and Lake City's streets between the Engineer Pass and Cinnamon Pass branches.
- Capitol City → · Ghost townMile 37.5
Capitol City is a silver-mining ghost town on the Engineer Pass road, about 9 miles west of Lake City.
- Engineer Pass · 12,799 ftMile 46.6
- Mineral Point → · Ghost townMile 47.2
Mineral Point is a ghost town just south of the summit of Engineer Pass, in San Juan County.
How to get there
- DirectionsStart and finishJunction with the Engineer Pass road from US 550GPS 37.95762, -107.57543
Side-by-sides are allowed on Lake City's streets and on Highway 149 between the two branches of the loop, so you can ride from town. On the Ouray side, stage at the Alpine Loop lot on US 550 and ride up Engineer Pass to start the loop at the summit. The BLM's Mill Creek campground, about 14 miles from Lake City, also has Alpine Loop access.
History
The Alpine Loop is a rugged back-country byway that connects Lake City, Ouray, and Silverton over Engineer Pass and Cinnamon Pass. Its roads were built in the 1870s to move ore and supplies for the silver mines. Today it passes ghost towns like Animas Forks and Capitol City, and a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle is needed for the full route.
- Enos Hotchkiss completed a wagon road over Cinnamon Pass in 1877, linking Lake City with the Animas valley.
- The loop reaches 12,800 feet at Engineer Pass.
- The Bureau of Land Management recommends driving the loop clockwise.
- Lake City was laid out in 1874 as a supply town for miners.