Independence Pass (from Aspen)
Climb · Colorado
Checked
part of: The highest paved roads in North Americapart of: The vertical kilometre clubpart of: The climbs that never turn backpart of: When the pass opens
Independence Pass (from Aspen) is a 30.6 km cycling climb averaging 4.1% (+1257 m), rising from 2447 m to 3690 m in Colorado.
The queen-stage pass of American racing: the Coors Classic sent Bernard Hinault's last stage race over it in 1986, and the USA Pro Challenge revived the crossing four times. Since 1994 the Ride for the Pass opens each season in May on the still-closed road, an 1881 toll route at 12,095 feet that was not paved until 1967.
30.6 km · +1257 m · 4.1% avg · ~7.9% max · 2447 → 3690 m
Stats computed from OpenStreetMap and satellite elevation data — approximate.
Download GPX ↓Navigate to the foot ↗
Gradient by colour: ● <3% ● 3–6% ● 6–9% ● 9%+
Where it bites
Steepest 500 m: 7.9% (km 10.2–10.7).
Road: paved throughout
| km | to | avg |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2455 m | 0.9% |
| 2 | 2459 m | 0.4% |
| 3 | 2457 m | -0.2% |
| 4 | 2464 m | 0.7% |
| 5 | 2473 m | 0.8% |
| 6 | 2517 m | 4.3% |
| 7 | 2563 m | 6.2% |
| 8 | 2624 m | 4.7% |
| 9 | 2682 m | 5.9% |
| 10 | 2740 m | 5.9% |
| 11 | 2805 m | 6.7% |
| 12 | 2855 m | 5.3% |
| 13 | 2892 m | 3.7% |
| 14 | 2942 m | 4.5% |
| 15 | 2995 m | 5.6% |
| 16 | 3053 m | 5.9% |
| 17 | 3093 m | 3.9% |
| 18 | 3121 m | 3.0% |
| 19 | 3153 m | 3.1% |
| 20 | 3184 m | 2.8% |
| 21 | 3210 m | 2.8% |
| 22 | 3257 m | 5.3% |
| 23 | 3296 m | 3.6% |
| 24 | 3336 m | 3.8% |
| 25 | 3382 m | 4.4% |
| 26 | 3418 m | 3.8% |
| 27 | 3472 m | 5.6% |
| 28 | 3529 m | 6.1% |
| 29 | 3589 m | 5.9% |
| 30 | 3659 m | 6.5% |
What it’s like to ride
Out of Aspen the road settles into a gentle rhythm beside the Roaring Fork River, barely over 2% through thick aspen and pine, before two signed narrow pinches around miles three to five: no shoulder, few guardrails, and at one point room for only one direction of traffic beneath overhanging rock. The grade is a steady slow burn, mostly 4–5% with a couple of 7% ramps (one midway, one a few miles from the top) and nothing past about 8%, the steepest work largely done before 10,000 feet. Around halfway the trees thin and the road opens onto a huge alpine valley ringed by the Elk Mountains and Collegiate Peaks; a switchback at mile 10, then the ghost town of Independence (miners' cabins and a stamp mill from the 1879 camp) marks the start of the final push. From about mile 13.5 a long hairpin swings you along a stretch cut into a cliff face, honestly more distressing in a car than on a bike. The summit, 12,095 ft on the Continental Divide, is a big parking area with a paved path to a 360-degree viewing platform and vault toilets; there's no potable water and no café, so carry everything for the two-to-three-hour effort and the hour's descent back to town.
History
The road over Independence Pass began as a toll stage road opened in November 1881 by Aspen silver-mine investor B. Clark Wheeler, linking Twin Lakes to the mining camps of the Roaring Fork valley; it fell into disuse when the railroad reached Aspen in 1888, was rebuilt by the state as Highway 82 in 1927, and was not paved until 1967. Racing history here runs through the Coors Classic era of the 1980s: the 1986 edition, Bernard Hinault's last stage race, sent a stage over the 12,095 ft summit, and organizer Michael Aisner called Aspen the queen stage of the race. The USA Pro Challenge revived the crossing, taking the peloton over the pass in 2011 on a 131-mile Gunnison–Aspen stage that also climbed Cottonwood Pass, returning in 2012 and 2013, and again in 2015 on the Aspen–Breckenridge queen stage over Independence, Trout Creek and Hoosier passes. Since 1994 the Independence Pass Foundation's Ride for the Pass has opened each cycling season in May, sending riders up the still-closed road (9.5 miles and about 2,500 ft of climbing) before it reopens to car traffic.
More climbs in Colorado
Common questions
- How long and steep is Independence Pass (from Aspen)?
- Independence Pass (from Aspen) is a 30.6 km cycling climb averaging 4.1% (+1257 m), rising from 2447 m to 3690 m in Colorado.
- Where is Independence Pass (from Aspen) steepest?
- The steepest 500 m averages 7.9%, between km 10.2 and km 10.7 of the climb.
- What is the road surface like on Independence Pass (from Aspen)?
- Independence Pass (from Aspen) is paved throughout.