Silverton Elopement Guide

I’ve helped couples with Colorado elopements since 2018, and I send couples to Silverton when they want something remote and close to some of Colorado’s best mountain ranges. Silverton is quieter, cheaper, and emptier than any other town out here, and that’s the whole appeal! Couples who pick it want a sunrise with nobody else at the lake, a Jeep road with no tour traffic, and a family ceremony where everyone can park. I’ve been planning days like that since 2018, and this guide is how I do it: the locations I build days around, the two-part day that gives you solitude and your people, what the town charges for its ceremony site and how Molas booking works, the clerk’s office quirks, permits, which pass to drive, and the mistakes I see couples make here.

Let’s get into where, when and how to elope in Silverton!

Is Silverton the Right Base for Your Elopement?

Silverton is right for couples who want solitude more than convenience. It has the fewest restaurants, vendors, and lodging options of any town in the range, and in exchange you get empty trailheads, the easiest entry to the Alpine Loop, and the lowest prices.

Here’s the honest trade. Most of my vendor team lives in Durango, Ridgway, or Ouray, so hair and makeup in Silverton means someone drives over a pass before dawn. Restaurants keep unpredictable hours because of staffing, and a few of my favorites are closed Sunday and Monday. If that sounds like a hassle, Ouray gives you the same mountains with more options. If it sounds like exactly what you want, keep reading.

The pass problem nobody plans for: Red Mountain Pass on US 550 between Silverton and Ouray closes for mudslides in summer and avalanche control in winter, and a closure can last hours or days. When it closes, a 45-minute vendor drive becomes a three-hour detour through Durango. I’ve had couples reroute the night before because of it. If your ceremony is in Silverton, book vendors on the Silverton or Durango side of the pass, or book my all-inclusive package and let me handle the all of this for you!

Where Can You Elope Near Silverton?

The best elopement locations around Silverton include Ice Lakes Basin for a big sunrise hike, the Alpine Loop and Animas Forks for off-roading, Molas Lake for a drive-up family ceremony, the Red Mountain Pass pull-offs for roadside alpine views, and historic downtown for a courthouse-style day.

I don’t post the exact spots I shoot. Several came from solo scouting trips, I don’t geotag, and I don’t hand out coordinates. What’s below are the public anchors. The private ones come after we talk and I know what kind of day you want!

Ice Lakes Basin

Ice Lakes Basin is a 7-mile round-trip hike with about 2,420 feet of gain from the South Mineral trailhead, ending at a turquoise lake under 13,000-foot peaks. It’s the area’s most popular trail and works best for a weekday sunrise elopement.

Ben and Taylor’s Ice Lakes elopement started with headlamps in the parking lot, a first look as the sun lit the peaks, and vows at Island Lake with champagne after. The trailhead is 2 miles north of town on Highway 550, then 4.4 miles up South Mineral Road, which a regular car can handle.

The Alpine Loop and Animas Forks

The Alpine Loop is a 63-mile backcountry byway climbing to 12,800 feet over Engineer and Cinnamon Passes, with ghost towns and old mills along the way. The easiest way in is from Silverton on County Road 2, and a stock Jeep handles the first stretch to Animas Forks.

This is why Silverton is my off-roading town. The Silverton approach is far less technical than coming in from Ouray or Ironton, so a stock Jeep or lifted car gets you somewhere epic fast. Animas Forks, the ghost town at the top of the Silverton side, is the obvious first stop, and I found a set of alpine tarns on GAIA maps years ago on the high benches above it. One couple trusted me on that spot sight unseen, and couples still ask about it. Phones don’t work on most of the loop, so download your maps.

I usually drive couples’ Jeeps myself for off-roading days. It saves you a rental and a tour booking, and it takes one worry off your plate. What a Jeep day looks like is in my off-roading elopement guide.

Molas Lake

Molas Lake sits about 6 miles south of Silverton on Highway 550 with a drive-up view of the Grenadier Range. The Town of Silverton runs a reservable wedding site at the campground, which is why it’s my go-to for family ceremonies near Silverton.

Molas is where the two halves of a Silverton day meet. Sydney and Spencer’s Columbine Lake elopement started with a private sunrise hike to an alpine lake, then we met both families at Molas Campground for their ceremony. Pricing and booking rules are in the family section below.

Red Mountain Pass Pull-Offs

The pull-offs near the top of Red Mountain Pass put rust-red peaks and mine ruins a few steps from the car. They’re the no-hike option, and they double as a weather pivot when the basins sock in.

Phoebe and Joe’s Red Mountain Pass elopement was backup plan number four after a day of clouds rolling over every peak. They self-solemnized on the pass in light rain with nobody else around. That day taught me to treat the pass as a pivot as much as a location: when the lakes are socked in, the summit pull-offs are often still workable.

The Train Into the Weminuche

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad drops backpackers at wilderness flag stops in summer. From Silverton, the afternoon train reaches the Elk Park stop in about 30 minutes, which opens up a backpacking elopement on the Colorado Trail without a long road approach.

Ride out of Silverton, get dropped at Elk Park, hike in and camp, then say your vows at sunrise with no road for miles. Southbound trains from Silverton only stop at Elk Park, not Needleton, and wilderness access runs roughly mid-May through mid-October. Dates shift yearly, so confirm with the railroad before you build a day around it. My hiking elopement guide covers what to pack and how I plan one.

What Opens and Closes Around Silverton Through the Year?

The upper Ice Lakes basin is usually snow-free from late June to mid-September. South Mineral Road isn’t plowed, so a winter Ice Lakes trip adds 9 miles on foot. The train’s wilderness stops run roughly mid-May through mid-October. Silverton Mountain is guided-only for part of ski season.

• Late June: upper Ice Lakes and the high Alpine Loop passes usually melt out. Before that, plan on snow and mud up high and a quiet, half-closed town.
• Mid-July: Hardrock 100 weekend. The Ice Lakes trail and the town both get busy. Wildflowers peak in the lower basin around now and the upper basin a couple of weeks later.
• Late September into the first ten days of October: aspen color peaks along the Million Dollar Highway, and I’ve had a storm drop a few inches the night before an elopement in this window every year. Those are some of my favorite days. My fall elopement guide has the timing for the rest of the state.
• Mid-October: the train’s wilderness stops end and the first real closures of Red Mountain Pass start showing up. Check COtrip for live road status.
• December through March: town is open and feels like a snow globe. Trails are closed, the pass can shut for avalanche control for days, and Silverton Mountain requires a guide for part of the season. Come in from Durango and read my winter elopement guide before you book.

How Do You Get a Marriage License at the Silverton Courthouse?

Apply online, then both of you visit the San Juan County Clerk at 1557 Greene Street with valid ID and $30 in cash or check. The office posts weekday hours of 8 to noon and 1 to 3:45, but the county itself says hours can be irregular, so call 970-387-8040 before you drive over.

The Colorado license rules are the same statewide and I cover them in my self-solemnization guide. What’s specific to this office:

• It’s tiny and the hours slip. The county’s own page asks you to call ahead. Do it. If the hours don’t line up with your travel day, Ouray County and Montrose County issue the same license and you can use it anywhere in Colorado.
• Cash or check only. No credit or debit cards for the $30 fee.
• The application is online. Fill it out before you arrive. You still both need to show up in person with ID.
• Your dog can witness. The county’s instructions say others can witness ceremonies, including your pet. Ask the clerk to mark where a paw print goes instead of guessing. More in my dog elopement guide.
• Mailing it back? Include a prepaid return envelope so they can send your recorded license home.

Which Road Should You Take Into Silverton For Your Elopement?

Come in from Durango over Molas and Coal Bank Passes if you’re nervous about mountain driving or eloping in winter. Come in from Ouray over Red Mountain Pass if you want the Million Dollar Highway as part of the trip. Both take about an hour from the next town. Silverton is the most remote of the four towns I cover in my San Juan Mountains elopement guide. The Silverton-specific decision is which pass you cross:

• From Telluride: there’s no paved road. Ophir Pass is a rough 4WD crossing, so the real drive loops through Ridgway and takes about two hours. Don’t book a Telluride vendor for a Silverton sunrise.
• From the south (Durango): Molas and Coal Bank Passes are paved, plowed, and have guardrails. This is the way I send winter couples and anyone who doesn’t love exposure. It also puts Molas Lake on your way in.
• From the north (Ouray or Ridgway): Red Mountain Pass has steep grades, sections with no guardrail, and real closures. It’s the better drive and the worse backup plan.

Where Should You Stay in Silverton For Your Elopement?

Stay in town at the Wyman Hotel if you want rooms built for getting-ready photos and a patio for dinner after. Stay at Molas Lake Campground if you booked the wedding site and want the whole day there. Stay at South Mineral Campground if you want to walk from your tent to the Ice Lakes trailhead.

• The Wyman Hotel: Andrew and Victoria’s Silverton family elopement started with a first look on a high pass, moved to the Wyman for a second round of getting ready with family, and ended on the patio with dinner and a first dance with their parents. It’s the one building in town I’d plan a whole day around.
• Molas Lake Campground: book the night before and the night of if you’re using the wedding site. Late check-in otherwise eats your ceremony window.
• South Mineral Campground: first come, first served, directly across from the Ice Lakes trailhead. It fills in summer, and overnight parking at the trailhead lot itself isn’t allowed.
• Opus Hut: near the top of Ophir Pass. Couples have booked it directly for a true off-grid base.

Mistakes to Avoid For a Silverton Elopement

• Booking a Telluride vendor. There’s no paved road between the two towns, so a Telluride hair and makeup artist is two hours away at 4 a.m. Book Durango, Silverton, or Ouray.
• Counting on dinner. Restaurants here close on Sunday and Monday and change hours without notice. Pick a weekday and have a backup, or let me book it.
• Trusting your phone on the Alpine Loop. There’s no signal on most of it. Download offline maps before you leave town.
• Sleeping at the Ice Lakes trailhead. Overnight parking at the lot isn’t allowed. Camp at South Mineral across the road instead.
• Booking Molas in the spring. The wedding site goes early. Email the town the fall before and hold the campsite for two nights.
• Planning a winter day over Red Mountain Pass. It can close for days of avalanche work. Come in from Durango and keep the pass as a bonus, not a plan.