Road trip guide: Conquering Indiana Pass

Indiana Pass is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 3.645m (11,958ft) above the sea level, located in Rio Grande County, in the state of Colorado, in USA. It’s one of the highest roads of Colorado.

Indiana Pass

Located within the Rio Grande National Forest, the road to the summit is totally unpaved. It is a two lane graded road, called Summitville Road. Accessibility is largely limited to the summer season. The site is not drivable until snow drifts melt off the access road so visitors should not attempt to go here until at least mid-July at the earliest. Temperatures here in the winter are brutally cold. Weather can change very quickly, so stay alert to cloud build-up.

The road to the summit is pretty steep. A high-clearance 4x4 vehicle is recommended, but the road may be accessible by a 2x4 vehicle. The journey offers superb views through thousands of colored aspens brings you higher and higher. The pass road is 12.55km (7.8 miles) long, running north-south from Forest Service 332 Road to Summitville mine. A minor gravel road northwest of the pass, climbs up to Grayback Mountain, at an elevation of 3.853m (12,641ft) above the sea level,
Pic&video: S. Anthony Goralczyk

 

Drive Us to Your Road!

With over 13,000 roads cataloged, we're always on the lookout for unique routes. Know of a road that deserves to be featured? Click here to share your suggestion, and we may add it to dangerousroads.org.