Million Dollar Highway
Scenic drive · Colorado
US 550 climbs 11,018-foot Red Mountain Pass between Ouray and Silverton on cliffside switchbacks with no guardrails, part of the 236-mile San Juan Skyway loop through old mining towns and turning aspen groves in the San Juans.
Don’t miss
Peak: September 4–September 8
Color builds from September 2 · mostly bare by September 21
Sampled at Million Dollar Highway’s own coordinates and elevation (3392 m) rather than a regional average.
This window comes from 54 weather points across Colorado, nudged 2 days earlier to match 2 published peak dates from csfs.colostate.edu and smokymountains.com. This year's weather has the peak running 4 days earlier than a normal year. How the forecast works
When to go to Million Dollar Highway
You get about 10 days of color here, from the first turn through to roughly September 12. It sits at 11,129 ft, high enough to turn before the valleys do.
Million Dollar Highway on the map
Drag the date slider to see when color reaches this corner of Colorado, or tap a pin for that stop’s own peak window.
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Frequently asked
- When does Million Dollar Highway peak in 2026?
- Peak color is predicted for September 4–September 8 (best estimate September 6). Color starts around September 2 and is mostly bare by September 21.
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