Trail Ridge Road (east side)
Climb · Colorado
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part of: The highest paved roads in North Americapart of: The vertical kilometre clubpart of: Roads built as statementspart of: When the pass opens
Trail Ridge Road (east side) is a 24.9 km cycling climb averaging 3.9% (+1078 m), rising from 2733 m to 3713 m in Colorado.
The highest continuous paved road in the United States at 12,183 feet, built by the Park Service in the 1930s and listed as an All-American Road. Ride the Rockies has crossed it repeatedly, and the spring window between the plows and Memorial Day, when bikes are allowed on the closed upper road, is an annual pilgrimage for Colorado cyclists.
24.9 km · +1078 m · 3.9% avg · ~7.9% max · 2733 → 3713 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: 8.2% (km 16.4–16.7).
Road: paved throughout
| km | to | avg |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2756 m | 2.5% |
| 2 | 2759 m | 0.3% |
| 3 | 2804 m | 4.5% |
| 4 | 2837 m | 3.7% |
| 5 | 2895 m | 5.6% |
| 6 | 2935 m | 3.9% |
| 7 | 2977 m | 4.1% |
| 8 | 3027 m | 5.2% |
| 9 | 3077 m | 5.2% |
| 10 | 3148 m | 6.6% |
| 11 | 3204 m | 6.0% |
| 12 | 3258 m | 5.0% |
| 13 | 3308 m | 5.0% |
| 14 | 3357 m | 5.1% |
| 15 | 3425 m | 6.7% |
| 16 | 3487 m | 6.0% |
| 17 | 3532 m | 6.3% |
| 18 | 3600 m | 5.3% |
| 19 | 3647 m | 5.2% |
| 20 | 3695 m | 4.4% |
| 21 | 3687 m | -0.8% |
| 22 | 3641 m | -5.3% |
| 23 | 3627 m | -1.3% |
| 24 | 3672 m | 4.6% |
What it’s like to ride
The east side is never vicious, just relentless: the grade tops out around 7 per cent, and most of the work is one long, steady 6 per cent pull that starts near the old Hidden Valley ski area entrance and grinds on for miles. You wind up through pine forest to the big sweeping switchbacks at Many Parks Curve and Rainbow Curve, where the road narrows to no shoulder with a drop-off on your right, and then the trees quit entirely: the road spends its last miles arcing across open tundra, elk scattered on the slopes below, the thinning air doing more damage than the gradient. It crests above 12,000 feet at Rock Cut before easing to the Alpine Visitor Center at 11,796 feet, the highest visitor center in the National Park Service, where the Café at Trail Ridge and its coffee bar are the only food service in the whole park. It runs 20 to 30 degrees colder up there than in Estes Park, winds above treeline can exceed 50 mph, and it can snow any day of the year, so start early and be off the top before the afternoon storms build.
History
Trail Ridge Road was a National Park Service project to replace the narrow, slide-prone Fall River Road: contract crews of up to 150 men began work in September 1929, reached Fall River Pass in July 1932, and completed the link to Grand Lake in 1938, holding the grade under 7% the whole way. Topping out at 12,183 feet, it remains the highest continuous paved road in the United States, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 and designated an All-American Road in 1996. Among cyclists it is best known through Ride the Rockies, the Denver Post's multi-day Colorado tour, which has crossed the pass repeatedly (roughly 2,500 riders climbed it from Grand Lake in June 2016), though the 2023 edition was rerouted off the road when park rangers advised against it in bad weather. The other tradition is the spring window: between the start of plowing in April and the road's opening to cars around Memorial Day, the park allows bikes on the closed upper road, and riding Trail Ridge car-free has become an annual pilgrimage for Colorado cyclists.
More climbs in Colorado
Common questions
- How long and steep is Trail Ridge Road (east side)?
- Trail Ridge Road (east side) is a 24.9 km cycling climb averaging 3.9% (+1078 m), rising from 2733 m to 3713 m in Colorado.
- Where is Trail Ridge Road (east side) steepest?
- The steepest 500 m averages 8.2%, between km 16.4 and km 16.7 of the climb.
- What is the road surface like on Trail Ridge Road (east side)?
- Trail Ridge Road (east side) is paved throughout.