Rocky Mountain Passes

Mountain Pass Signs

Rocky Mountains Passes in the Heart of the Rockies

A few mountain pass Signs in the Rocky Mountains
A few Mountain Pass Signs

High mountain passes you can ride the Heart of the Rockies are in the following mountain ranges:

  • The Sawatch Range (Continental Divide) which divides the Arkansas River Valley and the Colorado River Headwaters.
  • The Mosquito Range which divides the Arkansas and South Platte River.
  • The Sangre de Cristo Range which divides the Rio Grande and the Arkansas rivers.
  • The Northern San Juan’s, which are the headwaters watershed of the Rio Grande River.
RIVER watersheds
River Watersheds
Mountain Passes of the Heart of the Rocky Mountains
Mountain Passes of the Heart of the Rocky Mountains

(Click to View Images)

  • The Crossroads of the Rockies are Hwy 285 & 50 in Poncha Springs and Hwy’s 24 & 285 in Buena Vista, in south central Colorado.
  • The white X on the map is the Chaffee County Fairgrounds..
  • Chaffee County is home to more 14 thousand foot peaks than any other county in North America.
X Roads Rockies
X Roads Rockies
The Crossroads of the Rockies are US Hwy 50 and State Highway 285
The Crossroads of the Rockies at US Hwy 50 and State Highway 285.
Hwy 24 & 285 Trout Creek Pass
Hwy 24 & 285 Trout Creek Pass
List of passes you could ride in the Heart of the Rockies
Sawatch Range Passes.
(Continental Divide)
  1. Hagerman.
  2. Independence.
  3. Cottonwood.
  4. Tincup.
  5. Hancock.
  6. Cumberland.
  7. Black Sage.
  8. Old Monarch.
  9. Monarch
Sangre de Cristo Range Passes.
  1. Marshall.
  2. Poncha.
  3. Hayden.
  4. Medano.
Mosquito Range Passes.
  1. Mosquito Pass. 
  2. Weston.
  3. Trout Creek.
  4. Breakneck
Northern San Juan Range Passes.
  1. Canero.
  2. Ute Pass. 
  3. Otto Mears Toll-Road

All of these passes could be negotiated by any competent rider on a properly set up ADV motorcycle.

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Pass Signs in the Rocky Mountains
A few Pass Signs
950s KTMs at Hancock Pass Summit
950’s KTMs at Hancock Pass Summit
Heart of the Rockies Colorado Map
Simplified Heart of the Rockies Colorado Map
Whale Hill at 12000 feet in the Northern San Juans of Colorado
Whale Hill at 12,000 feet in the Northern San Juan’s
Continental Divide in Colorado from the Salida Volcanic Crater
Continental Divide from the Salida Volcanic Crater

Ride Dates

E Ticket Motorcycle Rides
E Ticket Motorcycle Rides
Mosquito Pass is the highest pass in the Country you can ride that goes somewhere.
Mosquito Pass is the highest pass in the Country you can ride that goes somewhere.

Colorado Mtn Passes