INDEPENDENCE PASS

Independence Pass was originally known as Hunter Pass. It is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. The elevation on the Continental Divide in the Sawatch Range is 12,095 ft. The pass is midway between Aspen and Twin Lakes, on the border between Pitkin and Lake counties. State Highway 82 traverses it. The is the highest elevation of a paved Colorado state highway on a through road. ~wikipedia

HISTORY

On July 4, 1879, a group from Leadville struck gold in the uppermost Roaring Fork valley below the pass. Four miles to the west, they established a settlement in the upper Roaring Fork Valley that eventually took the name Independence from the holiday on which it was established. The pass, the lake from which the Roaring Fork rises and another nearby mountain all took that name as well. The Twin Lakes and Roaring Fork Toll Company, established to build a road through to the camps in the lower Roaring Fork Valley, improved the original path over the pass sufficiently enough by 1880 that horses could be used for the trip. ~wikipedia

Independence Pass Photo Map

We drove to Independence Pass from Aspen. A few miles out of Aspen you will see Difficult Campground. The name cracked me up a bit; it sounds really inviting. I am sure it is a wonderful place to camp.

State Highway 82 Views (ascending)

The road grade from here steepens and your field of view widens as you ascend to the pass. The conifer trees blanketing the mountain side is simply beautiful and the aspen trees glowed yellow in places.

Weller Lake Trail

Part way up the pass we decided to pull off, stretch our legs a bit and hike around. You are immediately enveloped in the conifer trees once on the trail. We spied a stump where a squirrel had eaten its fill of pine nuts.

Independence Lake Trail Head

Just before Independence Pass in a great place to pull off and hike. The air is a wee bit thin here and we moved along the trail slowly. We didn’t venture all the way up to Independence Lake. We gained some altitude and took some pictures; then returned to the comfort of the SUV.

Independence Pass

The scenery at the pass (and all along the 44 mile route) is some of the most spectacular in all Colorado, and perhaps the finest you can view from a major highway, The road runs right beneath many great mountains including the highest in the state (14,433 foot Mount Elbert), and rises well above the treeline into the stark Alpine tundra zone. We passed many lakes, rivers, steep-sided valleys, thick forests of fir and extensive aspen groves. In the Fall, the aspen groves glow yellow; it is quite beautiful.