Kenosha Pass facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kenosha Pass |
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Looking north toward the Front Range after the pass.
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| Elevation | 10,000 ft (3,048 m) |
| 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 is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, United States. It sits at an elevation of 10,000 ft (3,000 m). This pass is found southwest of Denver and northeast of the town of Fairplay, Colorado.
Kenosha Pass is part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. It is crossed by US 285, connecting the towns of Jefferson and Grant. The pass offers amazing views of the surrounding Rockies, including peaks like Mount Evans and Mount Bierstadt. It also provides a main route into the large valley known as South Park.
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Exploring Kenosha Pass
Kenosha Pass is easy to travel through for most vehicles. The road stays below the treeline, meaning you'll always see trees around you. The curves are gentle, and the highway is wide.
The eastern side of the pass has a gentle climb from near Grant. The western side, coming from Jefferson, is a bit steeper. From an overlook on the west side, you can see a wide view of South Park. The very top of the pass is mostly flat and is surrounded by the Pike National Forest. There's even a United States Forest Service campground right at the summit.
History of Kenosha Pass
Long ago, Ute Native American groups used Kenosha Pass to reach the hunting grounds in South Park. In the 1800s, white trappers also used the pass to cross the Front Range.
During the Pike's Peak Gold Rush in the 1860s, many gold seekers traveled over the pass. They were heading to the gold fields near Fairplay and other mining towns in South Park. Because so many people used it, the trail was made wider into a wagon road. Later, during the Colorado Silver Boom, the pass became a key route for people moving to mining towns like Leadville, Breckenridge, and Aspen.
In 1879, the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad built a narrow gauge train track over the pass. This was the first train connection between Denver and the South Park mining towns. The train tracks were removed in 1938. Today, the modern highway mostly follows the old road and the path of the railroad.
That same year, in 1879, the famous poet Walt Whitman crossed Kenosha Pass. He wrote about the summit in his book Specimen Days:
- 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.
Activities at Kenosha Pass
The Colorado Trail crosses the summit of Kenosha Pass. This part of the trail, especially near the campground and heading northwest, is very popular. People enjoy mountain biking and hiking here.
Kenosha Pass in Pop Culture
Kenosha Pass has appeared in some popular culture. In the animated TV show South Park, a sign for Kenosha Pass can be seen in the episode "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers". In another episode, "Prehistoric Ice Man," a character who was frozen since 1996 was said to have been lost on Kenosha Pass.
The novel Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon also repeats a line: "you never danced the kenosha kid." This line changes its meaning each time it appears.
