Engineer Pass is located in the San Juan Mountains in the heart of the Colorado Rockies and will take you from Ouray or Eureka (depending on the route you take to get there) to Lake City. We chose to begin at the Million Dollar Highway near Ouray, Colorado after camping at Angel Creek Campground on Camp Bird Road.

Engineer Pass was completed in 1877 and gets your vehicle up to 12,800 feet above sea level. The pass is rated a 5-6 by Jeep Badge of Honor standards, but the difficulty is extremely dependent on the time of year, the weather, and the route you take to get there.

With us attacking this pass from Ouray on county road 18, the first few miles from the Million Dollar Highway were a little nerve-racking in our 2021 Jeep Gladiator Overlanding rig. It made our truck feel huge on the narrow, winding, bumpy shelf road. If you choose to go this way, take your time, plan out the best place to put your tires, and watch for any possible oncoming vehicles.

We felt like we held our breath the whole time until we got to the actual beginning of Engineer Pass where it intersects with county road 2. As soon as we hit the official starting point, the trail became less scary and more beautiful as we made our way up the side of the Engineer Mountain. There are switchbacks that weave you up as the view becomes more and more expansive.

Once you reach the top of the mountain, some of the best views are at Odom Point where you and your vehicle reach 12,800 feet!

The drive down the other side of the mountain, is a lot smoother, wider, and more traveled. It is dotted with waterfalls, cabins, dams, mines, and more mountain views. Eventually, you run into the tiny mountain town of Lake City, Colorado.

We decided to stop off to see the fascinating mining town of Creede, which was about an hour drive from there, before heading to Sand Dunes National Park to watch the sunset and camp for the evening.

Since we were in Ouray, Colorado back in 2021, we decided to include some of our clips from that visit in this video as well. We hope it helps highlight how beautiful this region is throughout the year, but it also shows some of the obstacles you may run into along the way.

If you have a high clearance vehicle with four wheel drive and a place to lay your head, it doesn't matter if it is a decked out overlanding vehicle with a rooftop tent like ours or your own creation that gets you out there, the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado is a wonderful place to explore!

If you are interested in wanting to adventure more, the best way to begin is to do a little research and just get out there with what you have. There are plenty of amazing places across this continent that you can go with any vehicle! We started out with a 1998 VW Beetle that was held together with Duck Tape and love, stacks of paper maps, a ten year old leaky tent, and a lot of determination so anything is possible if you give it a try.

Get out there, adventure, and have fun!


If you are curious about our equipment:

2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon
AEV Duel Sport XP Suspension System with High Capacity Springs
35 Inch Nitto Ridge Grappler Tires
Icon Rebound Pro Rims
Fishbone Offroad Full Rack
Go Fast Superlight Rooftop Tent
KC HiLites Flex Era 4 Spot Lights
KC Cyclone Rock Lights
Warn Zeon 12000 LB Winch with Synthetic Line
Warn Grill Guard
Three 3 Gallon Gas Rotopax
Two 2 Gallon Water Rotopax
Smittybilt Traction Boards

Camera Gear:

Sony A7Siii
Sony A7iiii
DJI Mavic Mini 2 Drone
Go Pro Hero 10
Go Pro Hero 12

Cooking & Living:

Yeti 45 Cooler
GSI Cooking Pot
MSR Pocket Rocket "Stove"
Mountain House meals that just take boiled water to make everything easy
Aero Press to make coffee
Nalgene water bottles

Our Dogs:

Australian Cattle Dogs/Blue Heelers
Katy AKA the wild, crazy, and noisy one that can be heard in the video (9 years old)
Rowdy AKA the snuggle beast that wants to make everyone happy (5 years old)