Entry No. 34 — the Durango file — filed under: ghost town

Ophir Town & Post Office

Named after the biblical land of King Solomon's gold, Ophir clings to a narrow San Juan valley at 9,700 feet where avalanche paths actually divide the town into separate neighborhoods. Founded in 1875, the settlement once held 400 miners; by the early 1970s it was down to a single resident. What brought it back was the Telluride ski resort opening nearby in 1972, not another ore strike. Today roughly 180 people and their dogs live here, governed by a general assembly that meets in a building barely larger than a garden shed. The post office — established in 1878, three years before the town itself — is claimed to be one of the smallest staffed post offices in the United States: a wooden structure split down the middle by a half-door, one side for the mail carrier, the other holding a wall of PO boxes for the entire community.

The move: Drive the San Juan Skyway to this near-ghost town, poke around the old stamp mill ruins and the Rio Grande Southern railroad grade, then arrive at the tiny post office window during its brief afternoon hours to send a postcard home from one of America's most improbable ZIP codes.

📍 Before you go The post office keeps limited hours: Mon–Fri 1–5pm and Sat 8–11:30am only — plan around them or the trip loses its anchor. The access road off CO-145 is paved and passenger-car friendly in summer; winter is a different story, as avalanche closures are common and the town can be cut off entirely. Ophir Pass Road (FS 630), which climbs east out of town, is a rough 4WD route and typically not open until late June. Durango is about 60 miles and two hours away via US-550 N to CO-145 N.

• 📍 Ophir
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 431 Ophir Rd, Ophir, CO 81426 (off CO-145, approximately 12 miles south of Telluride in the Howard Fork valley)

Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.

⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-11