Things to do in Ouray
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Buen Tiempo Mexican Restaurant & Cantina
Buen Tiempo is one of Ouray's most popular restaurants - an unfussy casual place serving Mexican favorites and Tex-Mex spin-offs. The blue corn-chips and enchiladas are novel and fried ice-cream is another house specialty. They claim to have Colorado's 10 best margaritas. We only tried the one and it was pretty good.
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Buckskin Booksellers
This excellent bookstore exemplifies the passion locals have for their town and area. Buckskin carries a huge amount of books on local history, mining and geology, as well as birding books, guidebooks and hiking and camping information. There are antique books and collectibles, old photographs and ephemera, as well as a great range of fiction titles.
There are also plush armchairs where you're invited to sit and read a while before you buy.
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Bon Ton Restaurant
Bon Ton has been trading in a beautiful room under the historic St Elmo Hotel for as long as anyone can remember. In fact, the basement room of the old hotel has been serving supper for around 100 years. Bon Ton does a few house specialties on its French-Italian menu, including escargot and crawfish tails, and veal piccata.
Some say its standard have slipped over recent years, but it's still worth a visit.
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San Juan Scenic Jeep Tours
The friendly folks at the Historic Western Hotel operate a Jeep-touring service that is customized to clients' needs. Abandoned ghost towns of the old mining days are always popular, as are off-road tours of the nearby peaks and valleys. Hiking, hunting and fishing drop-offs and pick-ups can be arranged.
If you're staying at the Historic Western Hotel you can get some good package deals for these tours.
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Ouray Hot Springs
Ouray's stunning scenery isn't the only ace up the town's sleeve. For a healing soak, try the historic Ouray Hot Springs. The crystal-clear natural springwater is free of the sulphur smells plaguing other hot springs around here, and the giant pool features a variety of soaking areas at temperatures from 96°F to 106°F.
The Ouray Hot Springs complex also offers a gym and massage service.
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Box Canyon Falls
This is a popular short walk from town, or you can drive to the signposted carpark off Box Canyon Rd. The waterfall is 285ft high and issues thousands of gallons of water each minute over a spectacular drop. The immediate area around the falls is rich in birdlife - the protected black swift nests in the rock-face. They are in Box Canyon Park, which has a modest entry fee.
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Ouray County Historical Museum
In a town so well endowed with history, a visit to the local museum is rewarding. Three floors of exhibits feature the local mining history, a bizarre-looking retro-futurist dentist's surgery, old tools and furniture, and a spooky collection of china dolls. The building was once a hospital. It's also the venue for meetings and events for the local historical society.
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Ouray Ice Park
Climbing the face of a frozen waterfall can be a sublime experience. Head to the Ouray Ice Park to try it yourself. This park spans a 2-mile stretch of the Uncompagre Gorge that has been dedicated to public ice-climbing. The park is the world’s first, and draws enthusiasts from around the globe to try their hand at climbs for all skill levels.
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Outlaw Restaurant
This convivial bar-restaurant specializes in door-stopper steaks cut and cooked to your liking. There's a select wine list and menu of cocktails as well as ubiquitous Colorado microbrewed beers. The decor is fun - a shingle wall is covered with sports memorabilia, antiques and, allegedly, John Wayne's hat.
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Ouray Mountain Sports
This is a full-service ice- and rock-climbing shop where you can buy and rent gear for dangling off ropes in perilous conditions. They service your equipment too - sharpen your ice-screws and tweak your crampons. Topographic maps and guidebooks are stocked, and advice on local sites and routes is given.
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Ouray Mule Carriage Co
The mule-drawn coach you see clip-clopping along Ouray's main streets is the nine-person dray that takes visitors (and locals) around on interpretive tours of the old town. The old Ouray Livery has been in the same family since 1944. Charters are available for larger groups.
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Tundra Restaurant at the Beaumont
The pick of places to eat in Ouray, this elegant restaurant has won several awards. It has a legendary wine cellar and does Thursday-evening tastings. Billing itself as serving 'High Altitude' cuisine, it focuses on regional specialties with great results.
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Silver Nugget Café
- Ouray, USA
- Restaurants › Cafe
A busy, contemporary eatery in a historic building, Silver Nugget features a very large breakfast menu as well as deli-style sandwiches at lunch. Dinner offerings include deep-fried Rocky Mountain rainbow trout, and liver and onions.
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San Juan Mountain Guides
Ouray's own professional guiding and climbing group is certified with the International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA). They specialize in ice- and rock-climbing and wilderness back-country skiing.
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Ouray Livery
The Ouray Livery offers short and day-long guided horseback riding in the mountains surrounding the town. This group has special-use permits to tour the Grand Mesa, Uncompaghre and Gunnison National Forests.
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Ouray Brewery
Ouray Brewery is the newest thing in Ouray. So new, they hadn't even opened for trade when we went past so we don't know any prices. There's a food menu on their website and a list of tasty-sounding beers - maybe it's all free!
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