How to Elope in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains
You know those “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” signs that you pass on your way over the border?
I spent my first few years living here wondering about those — obviously Colorado is beautiful everywhere, but I’m not sure colorful would have come to mind. I really didn’t understand until our first trip out to the San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado to photograph an elopement on the stunning backcountry trails that connect Telluride and Ouray.
The brilliant streaks of rusty red in the peaks, dusted with snow and towering over brilliant valleys of aspen gold and aqua lakes are indescribably magical. It’s the kind of place that makes me grateful to be a photographer because the words will never do it justice – a place where you can get that “eloping on top of a mountain” feeling, or find a wooded little nook at the foot of a waterfall, or do both in the same day!
That being said — we do have plenty of information to share for anyone thinking about visiting this incredible place for their elopement adventure!
Why choose the San Juans area for your elopement?
If you find yourself thinking you want to head somewhere incredibly beautiful with lots of opportunities for true adventure, yet don’t want to deal with crowded trails – this could really be the right move for you! The San Juan Mountains have world class views, hikes of every ability level, tons of water and wildflowers, and are generally pretty dog friendly. The ability to go off-roading on OHV routes also opens up so many possibilities for both seasoned overlanders and people who may be looking for a more accessible experience for themselves or their guests!
A pretty strong consideration though is that this area isn’t that easy to get to. Whether that’s a major drawback or just a detail is up to you – and we’ll get into travel tips for the area later in this post!
Off-Roading & 4x4 Elopements
I honestly think renting a Jeep or other off-road capable vehicle is an absolute must for making the most of a trip to Telluride, Ouray or Silverton. Each of these towns are nestled into box canyons with very steep elevation gain as soon as you drive out of town. There are always good trails to explore right from town, but for the best elopement experience you’re going to want to get out into the mountains! We love off-roading elopements and have a whole guide here to walk you through how it works.
We’ve helped a lot of couples with zero experience hop behind the wheel of their Jeep and have an amazing and safe time exploring the backcountry, so let us know if this is something you’re interested in!!
A very important tip is that you should NEVER drive a traditional rental car (like from Enterprise or Hertz) off road, even if it is a Jeep or similar vehicle. You need to go a specific kind of rental company sometimes known as an “adventure center” — our favorites are Colorado West Jeeps in Ouray and Diff in Telluride! We recommend booking your Jeep as early as you can and being mindful of booking multiple days if you plan to be out at sunrise or sunset.
If this sounds interesting to you we wrote a full guide to off-roading that you can find here:
Our Guide to Off-Roading Elopements
When is the best time to visit the San Juan Mountains?
Just for visiting? Literally any day of the year! But if you’re planning an elopement in the San Juans, I would highly recommend planning for summer or fall, that is mid-June through early-October. The general region is very accessible by major highways year round, but all the really good hikes are on high elevation passes that close seasonally as soon as it starts snowing.
Access isn’t the only thing though – both summer and fall in this part of the state are GORGEOUS. Imagine a crisp 60° day cruising through the mountains, spotting wildflowers and dunking your feet in a cold stream, or saying your vows in the golden glow of an aspen grove.
On the other hand, maybe you’re a real winter explorer and love the idea of snowshoeing or cross-country skiing for your elopement! The possibilities year-round are endless as long as you know what you’re signing up for: ie don’t come in March expecting spring wildflowers, that’s our snowiest month in Colorado!
In fact — let’s just go over the seasonal breakdown:
Summer = mid-June through August – this is your best chance to see flowing waterfalls, brimming alpine lakes, and of course wildflowers
Autumn = September through mid-November – with the best fall colors happening the last week of September and first week of October
Winter = mid-November through May – the highways and town roads will be maintained, but high mountain passes like Imogene and Black Bear Pass will be totally snowed in all winter. Plan to explore in town or spend lots of time skiing in Telluride!
Spring… is kind of complicated. Down in the valleys you certainly get a beautiful spring, full of tulips and lilac. But at higher elevations, the snow sticks around as long as possible, and it often feels like we skip right from full winter to into summer.
Should I stay in Telluride, Ouray, or Silverton?
Below is my map of the area (with our fave secret spots starred!) to give you an overview of the San Juans layout. When we say ‘the San Juan Mountains’ we mean this horseshoe shaped region pictured below. Telluride, Ouray and Silverton are largest towns in the area although all three are still quite small! (Ridgway is a slightly larger town with more amenities, but isn’t really up in the mountains like the other three.)
Each of these towns has a distinct identity, and we’ll get into more details on each one in the next section. For now, just know that while all three are quite charming: Telluride is more of a luxury experience (some may say bougie!), Ouray is very down to earth and comfortable, and Silverton is hip and up-and-coming while still kind of limited on amenities. Telluride and Ouray are connected by an OHV trail called Imogene Pass, so it is very possible to include both towns in your day!
Telluride
Home to world class skiing, Telluride Film Festival (one of the best in the country!), as well as the beloved Telluride Bluegrass Fest — Telluride brings in very high profile visitors a few times a year and has all the amenities to support a luxury crowd. So if you’re eloping in the San Juans and looking for a beautiful cabin and high end dining, this is the place to go!
Telluride elopement venues
Telluride Ski Resort manages several locations that are available to rent like the San Sofia Overlook and the Palmyra Lookout. Both of which are spectacular, but come with some of the largest price tags we’ve seen in Colorado elopements: anywhere from $4000-$6000 depending on the day of the week and your guest count. This could be a great fit if you’re got a large budget, have a lot of guests, or want to stay close to town — but don’t worry, we’ve have so many other amazing options that are free or more budget-friendly.
Like the iconic Bridal Veil Falls: this stunning spot only requires a bit of hiking and a nominal permit fee. Or the Alta Lakes Observatory, a beautiful venue on private property.
Of course we have many more secret spots in the area – which we keep private in order to not blow up our favorite hidden gems!
Telluride hotels we love
Ouray
How do you pronounce Ouray?
Idk! We’ve heard it pronounced both “Yur-ay” and “Ooh-ray” from the locals, but we’re gonna go with “Yur-ray.” One of our couples called Ouray “the redneck Telluride” a few years ago, and while I don’t fully agree, I can definitely see what they meant!
Ouray is super charming and welcoming town full of old mining-era architecture — but it’s also the Jeeping hub of the Western Slope, so you do see a lot of off-road rigs rolling through town. It’s a pretty low key and chill town, with one main road, a small grocery store and a handful of breweries. If you’re looking to elope in the San Juans and Telluride just isn’t your style I bet you’ll love Ouray. We’ve stayed there many, many times and love to visit the Ouray Hot Springs and Orvis Hot Springs nearby.
Ouray elopement venues
Gold Mountain Ranch in Ouray is a really incredible small venue – it’s got lodging for 18 guests right on the property, with a few beautiful overlook point options for your ceremony. There are 1200 acres to explore without leaving the ranch, but it’s also really close to some amazing off-roading trails to explore! You’re able to have up to 40 guests here in total, and pricing starts at $4500, with options for weekday weddings.
Almost all of our favorite Ouray locations are secret spots on National Forest land. Even though Imogene Pass is very well traveled, the Forest Service does not permit us to advertise NFS locations as places where we do business — even though we are allowed to work up there! So sorry, but we have to keep these to ourselves. Trust us, there are tons of cool spots for ceremonies and photo adventures all along Imogene Pass and the Million Dollar Highway. We’ll be happy to share once you’re our client!
One hidden gem place we are able to shout out is the amazing Mt. Hayden Backcountry Lodge! This remarkable off-grid adventure lodge is only accessible by Jeep in the summer and fall, and by snowshoeing in the winter. We’ve stayed here several times and loved our experience being hosted by the amazing chef/owner Eric — he does a communal breakfast and dinner every day, and you’re free to roam the acres and acres of gorgeous property or hang in the wood-fired hot tub all day! This is our go to spot to stay when we’re in the area, and guests are welcome to have a simple elopement on the property’s overlook point (which is truly stunning).
Ouray hotels we love
Silverton
Silverton is one place we’d really like to explore more of. I feel like we’ve only scratched the surface of what this little hidden gem has to offer as far as hiking and backcountry overlanding goes. We have been dying to stay at the iconic Wyman Hotel in Silverton – an exquisitely restored historic hotel with 15 rooms and event space for small weddings. We think Silverton is well on its way to becoming a great middle ground between Telluride and Ouray: stylish but affordable, low key but still very special and quintessentially Coloradan.
Silverton elopement locations
More secrets I’m afraid! Silverton is the same deal as Ouray — mostly Forest Service locations we are not allowed to advertise publicly! Another benefit of becoming our client ;)
One trail you may have heard of already in this area is Ice Lake and Island Lake. Known for the otherwordly blue water, this trail system is one of the most famous examples of a backcountry location being destroyed by viral social media posts. We get several inquiries a year from people who have seen the mesmerizing colors in a video, but didn’t realize that it’s a seriously strenuous and crowded hike. The local district is working on the infrastructure and implementing a permitting system to limit visitation and help conserve the area – so it may be a better option in the very near future, but only for very experienced hikers!
Silverton hotels we love
Other cool places to visit in the San Juans
San Juan Mountains FAQs
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Many of our couples fly into Denver and make the 5-7 hour road trip through Colorado just part of the journey! If you take the route along i70, you’ll pass close by some of our most well known towns and attractions like Breckenridge, Aspen & the Maroon Bells, and Glenwood Canyon. Our preferred route is to drive along 285 to 50 so we can visit our beloved towns of Buena Vista, Salida or Crested Butte along the way, and also enjoy the amazing views of the Curecanti reservoirs in Gunnison.
You can also fly directly into the nearby towns of Grand Junction, Montrose or even directly into Telluride itself. That might make sense for people wanting to limit their time on the road, but will most likely be more expensive and come with a layover in Denver.
Lastly, you could try flying into Salt Lake City and road tripping to the San Juans area, making sure to stop off in Moab!
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Every possible elopement location in the San Juans falls into two categories: private property and public lands. Private properties like formal venues or rental cabins will of course come with their own fees, anywhere from $200 a night up to several thousand dollars. On public lands however, at the moment* there are no public permit fees to hold weddings. You do have to follow the normal rules of visitation and considerably limit your impact on the environment, so keep in mind that it’s not a free-for-all!
*We have heard of some permits & fees coming to a specific trail system, but they’re still working on that so we’ll keep an eye on it!
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Not necessarily, but we highly recommend it for the best access to really amazing, and private locations!
More photos from real elopements in the San Juan Mountains:
Sure would be cool to get married here!
We’d be so happy to chat about your elopement plans, and share more of our experiences out there with you. This area is our top suggestion for so many of our clients, so let’s start working on whether it might be the right fit for you too!