Recreational Land and the Alpine Loop in San Juan County, Colorado

The Alpine Loop: a real, seasonal OHV trail system through the county's old mining roads

The Alpine Loop is a roughly 65-mile network of designated motorized trails, plus additional side roads, that winds through the San Juan Mountains between Silverton (in San Juan County) and Lake City to the east -- largely following old mining roads that pass abandoned mines, mills, railroads, and ghost towns from the same mining era covered on this site's county hub. Most of the system is rated moderately challenging, with a couple of genuinely expert-only sections, including Black Bear Pass and Poughkeepsie Gulch, both well known in the OHV community specifically for their difficulty and exposure. The trails are only passable in summer and are typically snow-free by mid-June, meaning recreational access here is seasonal by nature rather than year-round -- a real planning constraint if you're evaluating a parcel specifically for its OHV or backcountry recreational value.

This isn't an incidental feature of the landscape -- it's a defined, actively used recreational corridor that draws visitors specifically for motorized backcountry access, and land near the Loop or its connecting roads can carry real value tied to that draw. If recreational access is central to your purchase decision, confirm a specific parcel's actual proximity to a currently open trail segment rather than assuming general proximity to Silverton equals Alpine Loop access.

A genuinely split jurisdiction: county roads allow OHVs, town limits do not

OHV access in San Juan County is not uniform across the county, and the rules have shifted recently enough that a buyer should not rely on older information. On October 12, 2021, Silverton's citizens voted against allowing OHVs, ATVs, and unlicensed dirt bikes within the town limits -- a real, town-specific restriction that applies regardless of what county roads allow. Outside town limits, under San Juan County Resolution 2022-02, OHVs are permitted on certain county roads, but explicitly not all of them; the county maintains its own list of which roads are open. In a further, more localized restriction, county commissioners voted on April 12, 2022 to stop OHV access at Hancock Gulch, roughly 1.5 miles northeast of Silverton via County Road 110 -- an example of how access can be narrowed even on previously open routes.

All OHV operators and passengers on the Alpine Loop and county roads generally must carry a current Colorado Parks and Wildlife OHV registration (displayed visibly on the vehicle), and operators need a valid driver's license and proof of current OHV liability insurance. If you're buying land here specifically for OHV or motorized recreational access, confirm the current status of the specific road or route serving your parcel with San Juan County directly -- given how recently these rules have changed (2021 and 2022), don't assume a route's status from general Alpine Loop marketing materials or older online guides.

What to verify before buying for recreational access

• Whether the parcel is inside Silverton town limits (where OHVs, ATVs, and unlicensed dirt bikes are prohibited) or in unincorporated San Juan County (where OHV use is allowed only on specific, county-designated roads).
• The current status of the specific county road serving or near the parcel under Resolution 2022-02 and any subsequent county commissioner action, since access has already been narrowed on at least one previously open route (Hancock Gulch, 2022).
• The seasonal access window for the specific trail or route -- typically summer only, snow-free by around mid-June -- if recreational use is planned around a particular time of year.
• Whether the parcel's recreational value depends on crossing any patented-mining-claim or federal land in between, since (as covered on the county hub) legal access across intervening land is a separate question from a route simply appearing open on a map.