Aspen groves along the road to Ophir, Colorado 

Just above the small village of Ophir, in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, is a wonderful 4x4 road that all visitors to the area must travel. Arrive in late July for the spectacle of alpine wildflowers covering mountain sides or the last week of September for the peak of autumn color on all the aspen groves.  

This is not a not a one-way road. You will want to drive this narrow trail from east to west, starting at Red Mountain on Highway 550, south of Ouray, Colorado, so you can stay away from the edge of the cliffs when passing the Jeeps coming up the mountain in the other direction. The views from the summit are incredible. My favorite photographs were made in the aspen groves near the bottom of the road, just above the village of Ophir.  Park your rented 4x4 (I wouldn’t drive my 4-Runner over these roads) and walk into the groves, away from the graffiti carved into the trees along the edge of the road. Bring a shift lens for your 35mm camera or pack a large-format view camera for the best results. 

If you are planning a 4x4 search to photograph autumn color in southwestern Colorado, read my Photograph America Newsletter #8 - “Colorful Colorado - The San Juan Mountains.” Another reason to subscribe to the most detailed bimonthly photo/travel newsletter available. For more information and subscription details check out:  http://www.apogeephoto.com/800get_foto.html    

Previous Great Locations:

Up the Hudson River  
At the Base of the Kaiparowits Plateau  
Durango to Silverton Railroad along the Animas River  
Sunrise through the cottonwoods behind the old Johnson Ranch
Winter in the Tetons
Autumn Color in the Village of Waterville, Vermont   
Salt Valley Road in Arches National Park  
Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City, California 
Victorians along Steiner Street on Alamo Square in San Francisco 
Toroweap Overlook on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon   
Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park  
Desert Tortoise in the Mojave 
Formations along the White Rim Trail, Canyonlands National Park 
False kamani roots - Hana, Maui 
Bristlecone patterns along the Devil’s Backbone 
Spawning sockeye salmon jumping the falls on the Meziadin River  
Old miners' cabin above the Salmon Glacier in British Columbia   

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