The Gateway to the San Juans – Ridgway Colorado
At an elevation of 6,985 feet, Ridgway Colorado offers something increasingly rare: a genuine mountain town that has grown on its own terms. No single industry defines it. No single identity owns it. What you find here is a living layering of history. Ute footprints, railroad ambition, mining boom and bust, ranching grit, Hollywood glamour, and a deep love of the outdoors, all sitting together in a town of just over a thousand people with an vibrant art and food scene and some of the finest fly fishing access in the state right at its threshold.
A Town Built by Mining and the Railroad
Ridgway was founded in 1890, and its origin story begins with one of the most colorful characters in Colorado history. Otto Mears, known as the “Pathfinder of the San Juans” for the remarkable network of toll roads he carved through this rugged country incorporated the Rio Grande Southern Railroad in 1889 to connect the booming silver and gold mining camps of Telluride, Rico, and Ouray to the wider world. Mears and his investors laid out the town of Ridgway as the northern headquarters and roundhouse hub for the new line, naming it after one of the railroad’s founders, Robert M. Ridgway.
The Rio Grande Southern was completed in December 1891, stretching 162 miles from Ridgway all the way to Durango, crossing more than 140 bridges and trestles through some of the most breathtaking terrain in North America. Known as the “Silver San Juan” line, it was an immediate tourist sensation, and wildly profitable in its early years as ore flowed down from the mountains. The crash of silver prices in 1893 took a swift and devastating toll, sending the railroad into its first receivership and beginning a long, stubborn, decades-long battle to survive.
That fight for survival produced one of the most beloved chapters in American railroad history. During the Great Depression, unable to afford the cost of running steam locomotives, the railroad’s managers built a series of hybrid vehicles, part automobile and part railcar, powered by salvaged bus engines and capable of hauling mail, passengers, and light freight at a fraction of the cost. Seven of these machines were built right here in the Ridgway roundhouse. They became known as the Galloping Geese, and they saved the railroad for another two decades. The Rio Grande Southern finally ceased operations in 1951, but the Galloping Geese went on to become legends of American railroad lore. The Ridgway Railroad Museum, located at 200 N. Railroad Street, is dedicated to preserving this story and draws visitors from across the country and around the world. One of the original Geese, RGS #4, is maintained and operated there today.
With the railroad came homesteaders, and with homesteaders came ranching. The fertile valley floor along the Uncompahgre proved ideal for cattle, and by the late 1880s ranching had become a backbone of the community. That heritage is just as alive today as the railroad history. The Ouray County Ranch History Museum, housed in the beautifully restored original Rio Grande Southern depot at 321 Sherman Street, tells the story of ranch and farm life in this valley from the 1880s through the present day, through photographs, equipment, journals, and the personal stories of the families who built this place.
Uncompahgre Valley before Mining
The Uncompahgre Valley is steeped in Ute words for many things we visit today. Long before gold and silver fever and the railroad arrived, the Uncompahgre Valley was home to the people known today as the Ute. They lived throughout these valleys and the surrounding mountains for centuries, migrating up and down the Western Slope to follow seasonal hunting, trade routes, water access and the natural hot springs that gave the river and plateau their name.
Ouray County and the town of Ouray take their name from Chief Ouray, the leader of the Uncompahgre Ute during the mid-1800s and one of the most skilled diplomats of his era. Fluent in Spanish and English as well as Ute, Chief Ouray dedicated much of his life to protecting his people through negotiation, understanding that the pressure from American expansion left little room for any other path. Despite his efforts, the discovery of silver and gold in the surrounding mountains brought waves of prospectors who ignored existing treaty boundaries, and the conflict that followed gave federal authorities the justification they sought. In 1880, Congress forced a removal agreement, and by 1881 the Uncompahgre Ute had been displaced from this valley to reservations in Utah and southwestern Colorado. It was the end of a way of life in this place that had endured for centuries, and it came despite the best efforts of a man whose name now graces the county and the town that replaced what his people lost.
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Southern Ute Indian Tribe remain sovereign nations today, and their presence in the broader region endures. The stories of Chipeta, Chief Ouray, and the Uncompahgre Ute are honored at the Ute Indian Museum in Montrose, just 30 minutes north of Ridgway, where both sovereign Ute nations actively participate in how that history is told and shared. Artifacts recovered from Eagle Rock Shelter, including some of the oldest ever found in Colorado, are also housed there, making it one of the most remarkable and under visited museums in the American West. It is well worth the trip.
True Grit: Hollywood Finds Its West
Ridgway’s wide-open valley and cinematic mountain backdrop caught the attention of Hollywood long before most visitors discovered it. The town has served as a location for numerous Westerns over the decades, but none more famous than the 1969 John Wayne classic, True Grit.
For six weeks in 1969, the film crew turned five blocks of downtown Ridgway into 1880s Fort Smith, Arkansas. Directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Wayne alongside Glen Campbell, Kim Darby, Robert Duvall, and Dennis Hopper, True Grit earned John Wayne his only Academy Award for Best Actor. The spectacular autumn scenery of the San Juans, the golden aspen groves, the dramatic ridgelines of the Sneffels Range subrange of the San Juans visible from Dallas Divide, the wide skies, all provided the backdrop for some of the film’s most iconic sequences.
Much of that film history is still visible and visitable today. Hartwell Park in the center of town was the film’s gallows scene location. The True Grit Cafe, sits adjacent to the park and preserves original signage painted for the production. The Paddy Wagon used by Rooster Cogburn to transport prisoners is displayed nearby at Heritage Park. The Ridgway Chamber offers both self-guided and guided True Grit walking tours year-round, and the annual Old West Fest celebrates the town’s film, ranching, and railroad heritage each year.
To experience the landscape that gave the film its visual soul, drive Highway 62 west over Dallas Divide toward Telluride. Mount Sneffels rises 7,200 feet above Ridgway in just six miles, and the view south from the Divide, across open ranch land with the jagged Sneffels subrange filling the horizon, is one of the most reproduced landscape photographs in Colorado. The Ross Ranch, where the film’s opening and closing scenes were shot, sits just off Last Dollar Road about 11 miles from town. The scenery around it hasn’t changed much since John Wayne rode off into it.
History at our Doorstep
Human inhabitants have called this region home for over 12,000 years, and the depth of that presence is remarkable to imagine. At Eagle Rock Shelter, along the Gunnison River near Delta, BLM archaeologists have dated occupation of the site to approximately 12,800 years ago, making it the oldest known occupation site in Colorado. Rock art at the shelter spans multiple periods, with some artifacts believed to be 7,000 to 8,000 years old, and later images created by Ute tribes, include depictions of figures on horseback. The second-oldest basket found in North America was also recovered from this site. Eagle Rock Shelter is about an hour and twenty minutes from Ridgway and sits within the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, making it a meaningful addition to any extended visit to the region.
Ridgway Colorado Today: An Authentic Destination
Ridgway has grown into something that visitors consistently describe the same way: it feels real. The town a designated Colorado Creative District, home to galleries, working studios, and the historic Sherbino Theater. Ridgway is a certified International Dark Sky Community, with uncommonly clear, star-filled nights. Dennis Weaver Memorial Park, named for the Gunsmoke actor who was a longtime area resident and conservationist, offers peaceful river walks and a striking 2,800-pound eagle monument with a 20-foot wingspan. The town also holds the distinction of being home to John Billings, maker of the Grammy Award statuettes, a small-town footnote that never gets old.
Ridgway State Park, just two miles north of town, provides over 200 campsites ranging from full-hookup to primitive walk-in sites, boating on the reservoir, and the Uncompahgre Riverway Trail connecting the park directly to downtown by foot or bicycle. Orvis Hot Springs, just south of town, offers a variety of outdoor soaking pools set against open mountain views.
Fly Fishing from Ridgway Colorado: World-Class Water in Every Directioh3>
This is where geography and angling meet beautifully. Ridgway sits at the center of an extraordinary network of fly fishing water, with multiple rivers within easy reach and guided options for every skill level and interest.
The Uncompahgre River originates high in the San Juan Mountains and flows north through the valley, offering accessible wade fishing above and below the reservoir in multiple locations in a stunning mountain setting. The river fishes well through much of the season and is a natural first cast for visitors staying in town.
From Ridgway, the San Miguel River is less than 30 minutes west, running through a scenic canyon below Telluride with the kind of freestone character that makes for some of the most enjoyable wade fishing in the region.
To the north, the Gunnison River and the legendary Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area are about 45 minutes away. According to Trout Unlimited’s Gold Medal Waters guide, the Gold Medal designation on the Gunnison begins 200 yards below Crystal Reservoir Dam and extends just beyond the confluence with the North Fork of the Gunnison, covering the Gorge’s 14.5-mile stretch of world-class rainbow and trophy brown trout water. The Gorge is accessible primarily by float trip or on foot via steep wilderness trails, making a guided float trip one of the premier angling experiences in the entire Southwest. Just upstream, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park holds some of the most dramatic and remote Gold Medal water in the state, with long, steep backcountry descents rewarding those willing to make the hike.
East of town, Owl Creek Pass opens up the Cimarron drainage, home to three forks of the Cimarron River and remote high-country lakes holding wild cutthroat and rainbow trout. According to the Colorado State Forest Service, the forests of the Uncompahgre National Forest in this area transition from aspen groves at mid-elevation through Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir toward treeline, and driving Owl Creek Pass through these zones in late September is an experience in itself. The remote Silverjack Reservoir and the Big Cimarron Campground offer excellent camping and fishing in a setting well off the beaten path.
Dallas Divide, Owl Creek Pass, and the San Juan Skyway
The roads radiating out from Ridgway are reason enough to visit. Highway 62 west over Dallas Divide toward Telluride is one of those drives where passengers put their phones down. The San Juan Skyway, a 236-mile All-American Road and National Scenic and Historic Byway, connects Ridgway, Ouray, Silverton, Durango, and Telluride in a loop through the heart of the San Juans.
Ouray, just 10 miles south on Highway 550, sits in a tight box canyon at 7,800 feet, with natural hot springs, the world-renowned Ouray Ice Park, extensive jeeping and hiking trails, and Victorian-era architecture that tells its own mining history story.
Silverton, only about an hour south via the stunning Million Dollar Highway over Red Mountain Pass, is one of the most dramatic drives in the American West. A National Historic Landmark set at 9,318 feet, Silverton offers a window into the hard-rock mining era, the thrilling terrain of Silverton Mountain, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, the Alpine Loop backcountry driving trail, and the ghost town of Animas Forks. Combined with a stop in Ouray and a night or two in Ridgway, the three towns form one of the most memorable loops in Colorado.
Plan Your Ridgway Colorado Trip
Ridgway Colorado is not a pass-through town anymore. It is a place with deep roots, spectacular scenery, a welcoming community, and enough fishing, history, hiking, and mountain driving to fill as many days as you can give it. Stop into RIGS before you head out, pick up a current fishing report, and let our guides help you make the most of your time in the San Juans.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Ridgway Colorado
What is Ridgway Colorado known for?
Ridgway is known as the Gateway to the San Juans, sitting at the crossroads of Ouray, Telluride, and Silverton in southwestern Colorado. The town is celebrated for its authentic Western history, railroad and ranching heritage, its role as the filming location for the 1969 John Wayne classic True Grit, a thriving arts and creative district, and world-class fly fishing access on the Uncompahgre, San Miguel, Gunnison, and Cimarron rivers.
Where can I fly fish near Ridgway Colorado?
Ridgway is centrally located near some of Colorado’s finest fly fishing water. The Uncompahgre River flows through the valley, the San Miguel River is less than 30 minutes west, and the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area with its 14.5 miles of Gold Medal trout water is about 45 minutes north. The Cimarron River’s three forks are accessible via Owl Creek Pass east of town.
How far is Ridgway Colorado from Telluride, Ouray, and Silverton?
Ridgway is approximately 30 minutes from Telluride via Highway 62 over Dallas Divide, 10 miles south of Ouray on Highway 550, and about an hour south of Silverton via the Million Dollar Highway over Red Mountain Pass. All three towns are connected by the 236-mile San Juan Skyway scenic byway.
What is the history of Ridgway Colorado?
Ridgway was founded in 1890 as the northern headquarters of Otto Mears’ Rio Grande Southern Railroad. Before European settlement, the Uncompahgre Valley was home to the Ute people for centuries, led during the mid-1800s by Chief Ouray. The town later became famous as the filming location for True Grit and has grown into one of Colorado’s most authentic mountain destinations, with a certified Creative District, International Dark Sky Community designation, and a rich ranching heritage.
Is Ridgway Colorado a good base for exploring the San Juans?
Ridgway is one of the best base camps in southwestern Colorado. Within an hour you can reach Ouray, Telluride, Silverton, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, and the Ute Indian Museum in Montrose. Ridgway State Park, Orvis Hot Springs, Dallas Divide, and Owl Creek Pass are all within minutes of town.