The Skyway Trail Conceptual Plan is the result of a ten month effort to define the various possibilities and locations of a pedestrian/bicycle path for the northern portion of the San Juan Skyway from the Ouray city limit to Telluride in San Miguel and Ouray counties.

Development of this plan has been directed by a steering committee consisting of representatives from San Miguel and Ouray counties, of the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Forest Service, and the Uncompahgre Riverway Trails group.

Extensive efforts have gone into preparing a base map that can be used by all interested parties in the future construction of trail segments. This plan breaks the overall trail into five separate regions, each of which are unique in nature. These are:

• The area east of Society Turn including the Telluride Valley Floor, the Town of Telluride and the Town of Mountain Village.
• The area from Society Turn and the Lawson Hill development to the Community of Placerville. This includes a portion of the Illium Valley and the San Miguel River canyon.
• The corridor from Placerville to the top of Dallas Divide along Leopard Creek.
• The vast area from the top of Dallas Divide to the Town of Ridgway
• The valley from the Town of Ridgway to the City of Ouray along the Uncompahgre River.

Each of these areas has different challenges and opportunities that are presented in the body of this plan.