Kenosha Pass
Kenosha Pass | ||
---|---|---|
Elevation 9,576 ft (2,919 m)[1] | | |
Traversed by | US 285 | |
Location | Park County, Colorado, U.S. | |
Range | Front Range, Kenosha Mountains | |
Coordinates | 39°24′48″N 105°45′24″W / 39.41333°N 105.75667°W | |
Topo map | USGS Jefferson |
Kenosha Pass, elevation 10,000 ft (3,000 m), is a high mountain pass located in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States.
The pass is located in the
Description
The pass is easily traversable by most vehicles, never reaching above the treeline and featuring easily negotiable curves along an amply wide highway. The approach on the eastern side is fairly gentle, ascending from near Grant up a gulch at the headwaters of the North Fork. The western side of the pass has a steeper ascent, winding up the flank of a mountainside east of the town of Jefferson. An overlook on the west side of the pass offers a panoramic view of South Park. The top of the pass is nearly flat and surrounded by the Pike National Forest, with a United States Forest Service campground on the summit.
The pass was used by
The Colorado Trail crosses the summit of Kenosha Pass. The trail portion near the campground and heading northwest is popular with mountain bike enthusiasts and hikers.[2]
In 1879 the pass was traversed by the
- I jot these lines literally at Kenosha summit, where we return, afternoon, and take a long rest, 10,000 feet above sea-level. At this immense height the South Park stretches fifty miles before me. Mountainous chains and peaks in every variety of perspective, every hue of vista, fringe the view...so the whole Western world is, in a sense, but an expansion of these mountains.[3]
On July 25, 1936, Denver and Rio Grande Western locomotive #346, which was on loan to the Colorado and Southern at the time, rolled on the east side of the pass as it hit a corner at an estimated speed of ~40 mph. The engineer at the throttle, Eugene K. McGowan, was killed in the wreck. Kenosha Pass and the wreck of Denver & Rio Grande Western locomotive #346 are referenced in the title of the Mark Huber song Smells Like Kenosha.
References
- ^ "Kenosha Pass". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
- ^ http://www.coloradotrail.org/segments.html#5 Colorado Trail Information
- ^ Whitman, Walt. "America's Back-Bone". Specimen Days; from Complete Poetry and Collected Prose. Bartleby.com.