Trans-America Trail — Silverton to Durango via the La Plata Mountains and Missionary Ridge Burn Scar

The TAT’s southwestern Colorado segments don’t get the same shine as Engineer Pass or Black Bear, but the run from Silverton down through the La Plata Mountains to Durango earns its own reputation. You climb out of Silverton on rocky shelf road above the Animas River canyon, pass through the remnants of mining camps — Eureka, Animas Forks in rearview — then push west into the La Plata range on tracks that top out near 11,500 feet above abandoned silver claims at Kennebec Pass. The descent toward Durango cuts through the Missionary Ridge Burn Scar from the catastrophic 2002 wildfire, a haunting landscape of standing dead timber and fierce regeneration that makes for some of the most visually striking backcountry driving in the San Juans. Florida Road and the Animas Overlook trails stitch the final miles to pavement.

Moderate to Difficult depending on the year’s snowmelt timing — the high sections near Kennebec Pass hold snow into July and can be impassable before then. A stock short-wheelbase high-clearance 4WD handles most of it; a locker helps on the rocky shelf sections. Best season is mid-July through September. No permit required. Fuel and resupply in Silverton or Durango — don’t assume anything in between. Dispersed camping is legal and spectacular throughout the San Juan National Forest segments. Cell coverage is essentially zero above 9,000 feet.