Red Mountain is a trio of peaks in western Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, about five miles south of Ouray, named for the reddish iron-rich rock on their slopes. The peaks became closely associated with the region’s mining past after scattered settlement in the 1870s and silver discoveries in 1882 led to the establishment of Red Mountain Town in the Red Mountain Mining District. Nearby communities including Ironton and Guston later connected this high mining country with Ouray and Silverton through the Silverton Railroad and, later, the route now called the Million Dollar Highway. Red Mountain Pass and the surviving ghost town also preserve the peaks’ name and legacy.