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Independence Pass

Photo: Nan Palmero / CC BY 2.0

⛰️ Mountains

Independence Pass

Aspen, CO · Aspen / Roaring Fork

About

At 12,095 feet, Independence Pass is the highest paved crossing of the Continental Divide in North America, and the drive up CO-82 from Aspen earns every switchback. The road climbs past treeline into open tundra, where a short paved path leads to an overlook with the glacier-carved peaks of the Sawatch Range laid out in every direction. It is only open late May through early November, snow willing, so catch it while the wildflowers are out and the alpine ponds are still holding the sky.

Highlights

Highest paved Continental Divide crossing in North America (12,095 ft)Paved overlook trail to glacier-carved Sawatch peaksSeasonal: open late May to early NovemberAlpine tundra, wildflowers, and reflecting ponds above treeline

Getting there

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The Rocky Mountains21 places

The Rocky Mountains

Alpine lakes, fourteeners, and golden aspen along the spine of the West. The Rockies at their most iconic: the Maroon Bells mirrored in their lake, the Tetons rising straight off the valley floor, Glacier's Going-to-the-Sun Road, the red spires of the Garden of the Gods, and Idaho's serrated Sawtooths over Redfish Lake. From Colorado's San Juans to the Wyoming Tetons, Montana's Glacier, and the Idaho high country, with high passes and old mining towns in between.