Camp Bird Road

The access corridor for the entire Yankee Boy network and our drain-out route back to US-550. An easy gateway into the mountains above Ouray, winding five miles up into the Uncompahgre National Forest along Canyon Creek with waterfalls in view and earshot, past numerous designated campsites, ending right where Yankee Boy Basin begins. Rated 2 out of 10 with a single flagged concern — nothing here suggests a width or clearance problem for a full-size truck. The history is the other draw: the Camp Bird Mine produced roughly 1.5 million ounces of gold and 4 million ounces of silver between 1896 and 1990. Thomas Walsh found it in 1896 and sold out for $5.2 million in 1902; his daughter Evalyn Walsh McLean went on to buy the Hope Diamond. The name comes from the camp birds that helped themselves to the miners' lunches.