The Best Colorado Town You've Never Visited
OURAY, CO — Ouray (“yur-ay”), a charming small city nestled between the San Juan mountains in Southwest Colorado, is simply bursting with rich history, beautiful scenery and activities for both thrill seekers and those seeking rest and relaxation. Aptly called the “Switzerland of America”, it boasts three different Via Ferrata routes, at least three easily accessible waterfall trails, four hot springs, more than 300 miles of hiking trails and so, so much more. When we charted our 2026 Colorado Road Trip, we were sure to include a brief stop in Ouray; though, if we’d known how charming Ouray would turn out to be, we would have planned to stay a little longer.
What drew us to Ouray was Box Cañon Falls, a 285-foot waterfall that pushes thousands of gallons of water every minute from Canyon Creek into a quartzite canyon. We had seen vlogs and social media content featuring the falls as experienced by fellow travelers, but the camera rarely conveys scale the same way that the naked eye does - so we wanted to experience it for ourselves. The morning of our intended visit, we left from Glenwood Springs, CO and made our way towards Ouray from the northeast. The weather that morning was less than ideal - pouring rain and flooding made for some hazardous road conditions - but the weather seemed to stabilize as we grew closer to our destination. By the time we were in out of the plains and back in the mountains again, we had nothing but sunshine and pleasant temperatures. As we got closer to Ouray, we found ourselves making several roadside stops for mountain vista views and riverside photos.
Above: The metal walkway that takes hikers down into Box Canyon and right up alongside Box Cañon Falls.
Navigating Ouray via GPS was easy, particularly when coming from the northeast instead of the southwest…more on that later. Arriving in town, we were met with architecture dating back decades and, conversely, infrastructure that seemed to be spectacularly modern. We saw beautiful historic hotels, a busy, bustling downtown and even a few of the city’s famous hot springs. This was around the time that we realized we’d really shorted ourselves by only allowing ourselves three hours to explore this area. Still, we came to see waterfalls - and we left ourselves plenty of time to do at least that. There were signs all over town to help guide visitors to the Box Cañon Falls Park and Nature Center, which eventually led us to a very narrow dirt road. The road looked treacherous, initially, but we were able to breathe a bit more freely when we saw a sign indicating that it was a one-way road and that we wouldn’t have to worry about dodging other vehicles. Parking at the Nature Center is free, but space is limited, so we recommend arriving with the first few hours of opening…especially if you’re planning to visit on a weekend. Once parked, you can enter the nature center to pay your visitor’s fee ($8.00 per adult) and get a park map if desired.
At this point, we were able to sort of “choose our own adventure”; the falls themselves are best viewed from the Falls Trail, a 500-foot trail that begins at the nature center and features metal walkways and stairs that offer different vantage point of the falls, the rushing river and the canyon walls. Though the falls aren’t exceptionally tall (285 ft), the pressure that builds as more than 3,000 gallons of water are pushed through a very narrow quartzite gorge every second results in one of the most objectively powerful waterfalls we’ve ever seen. It’s difficult to get a perfect photo of the falls as the canyon is so angular and jagged and the metal walkway does jut into the frame, but experiencing Box Cañon Falls up close and in person was a worthwhile experience. Of note, it can get very loud inside the canyon and you will get wet the closer you get to the falls. The overhead clearance of the metal walkway can also vary as you get deeper into the canyon, so do mind your head as you carry on down the trail. The path is mostly level with a few steps and is widely considered “easy” by experienced hikers.
Once you’ve seen the falls up close, you owe it to yourself to see it at scale via the High Bridge Trail. This trail is relatively short but is all the same considered “moderately difficult”, as there are multiple staircases involved and you’ll be traversing some uneven terrain as you ascend for half a mile and gain 200 feet of elevation. This hike begins from the same nature center as the Falls Trail, and takes you to the bridge above the rushing river for stunning views of the canyon and town below. There is a metal cable secured to the mountain side to aide hikers for some of the more difficult stretches. When you level out at the mountain’s peak, the view from the High Bridge is a sight to behold; if you look closely directly across the town, you can spot Cascade Falls from the bridge, which is another popular landmark in Ouray. The iron bridge is small, but large enough for multiple people to cross at any given time. It’s also very sturdy, offering no sway or give as you walk across it - though it may still give you a touch of vertigo, if you’re not one for heights. The bridge connects to the Perimeter Trail via a man-made cave which tunnels through the mountain, and if we’d had more time allocated to this stop, we’d definitely have taken that trail to get more views of Ouray and the surrounding mountains and waterfalls. However, we were on a ticking clock, so - after enjoying a much-deserved rest at the peak - we opted to take the same trail back down and not carry on around the loop.
With little more than an hour left in Ouray, we hurried across to the other side of the valley - less than two mile’s commute - to try and catch a glimpse of Cascade Falls, and specifically the lower section of falls which was another easy hike from a convenient parking area. Parking at the Cascade Falls Park is free, but be advised that both the trail and the parking lot are paved atop a rather steep incline. Though the hike to the Lower Falls was quick (10 minutes or less), the gradient left us sweaty and out of breath! Luckily, the Lower Falls offered a reprieve that was nothing short of magical with much of the cascading water blowing away into increasingly thin air as wind whipped through the valley. We spent a good twenty or thirty minutes just enjoying the cool breeze and breathtaking views before we had to make the difficult decision to return to the parking lot and abandon our little slice of Rocky Mountain heaven. As we loaded ourselves into the car and crossed town to resume our travel, we made sure to stop at the “Switzerland of America” sign and look out point for some final, breathtaking views of the city before getting back on the road for our next destination.
Above: Katie poses with the 'Switzerland of America' sign at Look Out Point in Ouray, CO.
So what did we learn from our short, three-hour stop in Ouray? Well, first and foremost, we learned that this idyllic Coloradan town is worth much more than the three hours we had available to give it. Given more time, we would have made a dedicated effort to stop at one of the local restaurants - Brickhouse 737 had some great mountain views and was widely reviewed as a local favorite - or hiked further along the perimeter trail in Box Canyon or the Upper Falls trail to see more of Cascade Falls up close. We might even go as far as to recommend an overnight stay at one of the town’s mountain lodges, such as the Box Canyon Lodge & Hot Springs which offers direct access to the natural springs beneath the mountains. Main Street Ouray is a bustle of small shops and businesses that we’d also love to have visited, if not for the lack of time. Generally speaking, Ouray is the perfect spot to spend a long summer weekend, and will definitely be a more prominent stop on any future Colorado road trip that we plan for ourselves.
Of course, travel isn’t always flowers and rainbows, and we’d be doing you a disservice if we didn’t offer some insight into some of the town’s potential obstacles to tourism as well - for starters, the “Switzerland of America” is subject to the same geological and meteorological conditions as an authentic Swiss mountain range. Approaching from the northeast made for a fairly easy commute, but departing Ouray and heading southwest put us on the infamous Million Dollar Highway, known for spectacular views but also frighteningly steep, narrow and exposed roads with significant drops and no guardrails. During the colder times of year when snow and ice are more likely, the state and city parks in Ouray are more likely to close - but the Million Dollar Highway can also become impassible, making it infinitely more difficult to access the town. Additionally, the steep slope that most of the town finds itself on can be difficult on a vehicle transmission during the summer months and equally as impassible during the winter months. Luckily, nobody knows how to manage snow and ice like a Coloradan, and the town has survived - perhaps even thrived - from season to season and year to year thanks to its citizens’ collective endurance and expertise.
It was Box Cañon Falls that put the mountain town (legally, the city) of Ouray on the map for us, but it was Ouray’s innate charm and natural beauty that has kept it on our radar even after coming and going. We owe it to ourselves - and to Ouray - to revisit for a longer stretch and spend more time hiking, exploring, soaking in the mountain hot springs and shopping with the small businesses that keep the town’s economy moving forward…and we think that you owe it to yourself to plan a visit someday, too! In the meantime, you can experience Box Cañon Falls vicariously through our latest video, embedded below. If you have any questions about our brief visit to Ouray, be sure to drop a comment on the blog or the video page!
