Black Bear Road or Black Bear Pass, and officially Forest Service Road 648, is a dirt road that starts from the summit of Red Mountain Pass on U.S. Highway 550 (between Ouray and Silverton) to Telluride, Colorado. The road crests at Black Bear Pass, elevation , and descends over a set of switchbacks as it navigates the heights above Telluride. The road passes Bridal Veil Falls, the highest waterfall in Colorado. In 1975, the road was the subject of a spoken-word song and album of the same title by country musician C. W. McCall. Black Bear Road is open a few months of the year, from late summer (usually the last week of July) to early fall. The road is traveled only downhill from Red Mountain Pass — except for the annual Jeeper's Jamboree in which travel is reversed for one day only. The start of the trail was formerly marked along U.S. 550 with a sign that read: {| style="margin: 1em auto;" |----- TELLURIDE ——> CITY OF GOLD 12 MILES - 2 HOURS YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE CRAZY TO DRIVE THIS ROAD - BUT IT HELPS JEEPS ONLY |} After repeated thefts of the sign, the local authorities stopped replacing it. References External links Narrowgauge.org: The Infamous Black Bear Road — article with a collection of photographs. Bushducks.com open trails: Black Bear Road - with seasonal road open/closed listing. Roads in Colorado San Juan Mountains (Colorado) Transportation in San Juan County, Colorado Transportation in San Miguel County, Colorado Uncompahgre National Forest