Trail Ridge Road
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Trail Ridge Road | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by CDOT | |
| Length: | 48 mi (77 km) |
| Existed: | 1932 – present |
| Major junctions | |
| West end: | Grand Lake |
| East end: | Estes Park |
| Location | |
| Counties: | Grand County, Larimer County |
| Highway system | |
|
United States Numbered Highways |
|
Trail Ridge Road is the name for a stretch of U.S. Highway 34 and is the highest continuous highway in the United States. Also known as Trail Ridge Road/Beaver Meadow National Scenic Byway, it traverses Rocky Mountain National Park from Estes Park, Colorado in the east to Grand Lake, Colorado in the west. It crosses the Continental Divide at Milner Pass (elev. 10,758 ft/3,279 m) and reaches a maximum elevation of 12,183 ft (3,713 m), near Fall River Pass (elev. 11,796 ft/3,595 m). Near the highest point on the road is another pass, Iceberg Pass (elev. 11,827 ft/3,604 m).
Trail Ridge Road is closed during the winter, and often remains closed until late spring or early summer depending on the snowpack.It requires access to Rocky Mountain National Park even for local residents.
Contents |
[edit] Route description
 |
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009) |
From Kawuneeche Visitor Center at the park's Grand Lake Entrance, Trail Ridge Road follows the North Fork of the Colorado River north through the Kawuneeche Valley. There are several trailheads along this section of the road, notably the Colorado River Trailhead, which is the western terminus of the road segment closed during the winter.
After the Colorado River Trailhead, the road goes through a series of switchbacks as it gains in elevation and turns to the east. The Farview Curve overlook provides an excellent view of the Kawuneeche Valley and the Never Summer Mountains. Milner Pass carries the road over the Continental Divide and the route rounds Medicine Bow Curve before coming to a junction with Fall River Road at Fall River Pass near the popular Alpine Visitor Center.
From the visitor center, Trail Ridge Road continues to the east and reaches its highest elevation of 12,183 feet (3,713 m) between the Gore Range and Lava Cliffs overlooks. Iceberg Pass, marked by pullouts on both sides of the road, is crossed between Lava Cliffs and the Rock Cut overlook.
Trail Ridge Road descends toward the east as it passes the Rock Cut overlook and the popular overlooks of Forest Canyon and Rainbow Curve. Many Parks Curve marks the eastern terminus of the road segment closed during the winter. Continuing toward the park's eastern boundary, Hidden Valley is a popular winter recreation area with a warming shelter and heated rest rooms.
The road's eastern end is at Deer Ridge Junction where US 36 and US 34 meet in Estes Park. West of the junction, US 36 provides access to Horseshoe Park and the old Fall River Road.
[edit] History
Fall River Road was the first road into the park's high country. It opened in 1921 and quickly proved inadequate for motor travel as a single-track road with steep grades (up to 16%), tight curves and a short annual season due to snowpack.[1] Construction began in 1929 and was complete to Fall River Pass by July 1932, with a maximum grade of 7%. The road was complete through the Kawuneeche Valley to Grand Lake in 1938.[2] The route followed what was known to local Arapaho Indians as the Dog Trail. Internal opposition to the construction of the a road through the park's alpine tundra was overruled by National Park Service director Horace Albright, who wished to encourage park visitation. The road was designed to intrude as little as possible into the landscape, in accordance with Park Service design principles.[3]
Hidden Valley (or Ski Estes Park) was a local ski area attraction from 1955 - 1991, off of Trail Ridge Road, now in defunct status.[4]
[edit] See Also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Larimer County, Colorado
[edit] References
- ^ "Scenic Drives". Rocky Mountain National Park. National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/archive/romo/visit/weather/scenicdrives.html. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
- ^ "History of Trail Ridge Road". Rocky Mountain National Park. National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/romo/historyculture/trail_ridge_road_history.htm. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ Noel, Thomas J. (1997). Buildings of Colorado. Oxford University Press. p. 457. ISBN 0-19-515247-6.
- ^ Colorado Ski History: Hidden Valley (Ski Estes Park)
[edit] External links
- Trail Ridge Road/Beaver Meadow Road Overview on the National Scenic Byways website
- Trail Ridge Road on the Colorado Scenic Byways website
- Video from Top of Trail Ridge Road taken September, 2007.
- Rocky Mountain National Park Official Site
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates: 40°23′41″N 105°42′39″W / 40.394673°N 105.710793°W
