From its beginning in 1986, Ouray Trail Group has published a map of Ouray area trails both as a public service and to generate income to support its ongoing mission: To encourage safe and enjoyable hiking and related low impact activities in the San Juan Mountains while preserving their beauty and resources. 

The First Edition of Hiking Trails of Ouray County showed 13 trails against a background of six USGS topographic maps and included descriptions and a unique table of difficulty, distance, elevation and time needed for the hikes. The 2025 15th Edition features 84 trails and an enlarged inset map of the Ouray area and the Ouray Perimeter Trail. A custom cartographic background for this new map was created by local cartographer Mike Boruta.

The map evolution reflects trail upgrades and their ongoing maintenance and is a tribute to OTG's long term efforts to restore lost historic trails and construct new ones where needed. The map now spans several counties and includes a larger inset map of hiking trails around Ouray and features trails in Mt. Sneffels and Uncompahgre Wildernesses, the Red Mountain/Ironton area, and north of Ouray and around Ridgway.  Historic but unmaintained county trails are shown as well.  A written guide to all the maintained trails and their locations, as well as an expanded table of distance, elevation, difficulty and time still offers essential details for hikers.

In 2007, OTG also published the first of four editions of a small guidebook by Karen Risch to trails suitable for young families and those looking for a gentler hiking experience. The book describes 13 short, mostly gentle trails that begin in and around the City of Ouray. It showcases waterfalls, streams, canyons and other features of interest to hikers of all ages.