For anyone planning on visiting Hinsdale County/Lake City area, be aware of the following road closures. Visit this link for more details. Click Here For the San Juan National Forest click here to be taken to a page on their site that has road closure information. Currently there is no off-road/primitive site camping allowed along the South Mineral Creek FS585 out of SIlverton. Do your research before leaving. Many areas commonly accessible by this time of year are still closed! Check other National Forest websites for additional information.
If coming from Durango/Silverton, drive north from the main highway intersection on the west side of Silverton on US550 for 5.5 miles and watch for the turnoff on the left for FR679 to Ophir Pass. The road drops down to cross Mineral Creek before beginning its climb west up the valley. It will be about 4.6 miles to the pass summit. Most of the road is fairly easy driving, but as you approach the pass, this is where you'll likely be glad for 4WD.
If coming from Ouray, drive south on US550 over Red Mountain Pass. On the south side of the pass at the large hairpin turn, it will be another 2.9 miles down the road to the turnoff on the right for FR679. Follow the road across Mineral Creek and drive 4.6 miles from US550 to the summit of the pass.
If coming from Telluride, From "Society Junction" about 4 miles west of the town of Telluride on HWY 145, turn south and head up the hill and past the turnoff for the ski area. Continue south several more miles to the turnoff for Ophir. Drive east on FR630 to Ophir - which is mostly a collection of summer cabins. Continue driving east past Ophir to the pass. At the top of the pass, FR630 becomes FR679. It's all the same road. From the center of Ophir, it's about 3.9 miles to the pass summit.
There's not a lot of good choices for camping in the vicinity. The nearest Forest Service CG is the South Mineral out of Silverton. Another option is where FR679 turns off of US550, there's an open spot in some trees right off the highway. You'll have to put up with highway noise and no privacy.
On the west side of Ophir Pass, there' s a lot of private property around the village of Ophir, so the best option may be the Swamp Canyon TH for climbing V.3. Look up the other Ophir Pass TH that describes how to get to Swamp Canyon.