ouray

Location: 334 miles southwest of Denver on U.S. 550
Elevation: 7706, Population: 813

Some call the tiny mountain town of Ouray the Switzerland of America, situated as it is in a river valley at nearly 8,000 feet, surrounded by the snow-capped San Juan Mountains. You almost expect to hear yodeling echo from these high hills.
Established in the late 1870s during gold and silver strikes, Ouray survived those boom-and-bust days because it's such a wonderful place to relax. Natural hot springs feed the rustic town pool, where both locals and visitors come to soak. It's said that Chief Ouray, the Ute Indian after whom the town is named, visited the pool often.

Several crashing waterfalls make for spectacular photos, and a popular activity for visitors is to hike up to Box Canyon Falls, where the water falls 285 feet from top to basin. The town's falls, in fact, provide the location for one of the most popular winter events, the Ouray Ice Festival, held each January. Ice climbers come to town all winter, though.

Surrounded by aspen trees, the town also becomes a spectacularly colored canvas each autumn, when Jeep Jamboree draws visitors who want a closer look at the brilliant foliage.

A tour of the Bachelor-Syracuse Mine offers a look at what it was like to be a miner, as do displays at the local museum.

Historic buildings, a wide range of lodgings (some with their own hot springs pools) and fun restaurants keep visitors coming back.

Source: Colorado.com

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