Trail Advisory: Imogene Pass

Imogene Pass is located at 37°55′56″N 107°44′10″W in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, within Ouray/San Miguel counties. At 13,114 feet, it is the highest mountain pass in the San Juan’s, and the second-highest vehicular mountain crossing in Colorado. The road is accessible exclusively by four-wheel-drive vehicles and is not for the novice driver.

From Ouray, the road turns off the road going to Yankee Boy Basin above Camp Bird Mine near the ghost town of Sneffels and climbs through Imogene Basin to the summit. From Telluride, the road takes off north of downtown and climbs past the ghost town of Tomboy through the Savage Basin to the summit.

The road starts at around 7,800 feet and crests 13,144 feet over the course of its 17.1-mile length. The pass is usually closed until early July, when the snow melt has receded enough to be plowed by large bulldozers.

Originally, the route was constructed in 1880 as an alternative route for connecting the towns of Telluride and Ouray from Tom Boy Mine, but eventually was relegated to carrying the first long distance alternating-current power line to carry power from Telluride to the Camp Bird Mine. In 1904, Fort Peabody was constructed off of the pass, and was staffed by the Colorado National Guard to prevent union miners from crossing during a labor strike. In 1966, following the efforts of local 4WD clubs, the route was re-opened as a state road limited to 4WD access.