Guanella Pass opens ahead of Memorial Day weekend

Heather Willard
·2 min read
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DENVER (KDVR) — While Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park will remain closed over the holiday weekend, the more southern Guanella Pass has been cleared and reopened for the summer.

The Clear Creek County and Park County Road and Bridge divisions, along with the U.S. Forest Service, announced that the pass officially reopened on Thursday at 4 p.m. The pass, located between Square Top Mountain and Mount Blue Sky, connects Interstate 70 in Georgetown to U.S. 285 in Grant.

Motorists can see many of Colorado’s Rocky Mountain peaks from the roadway, including Mount Bierstadt, Mount Blue Sky and Argentine Pass.

When seasonal mountain road closures will be lifted in Colorado

The pass is also in a portion of Colorado dotted with old logging areas and mines, as noted by the Colorado Department of Transportation, which should be unsurprising given Georgetown’s history as a former mining town. Traffic and other regional information for Guanella Pass can be obtained by calling 303-679-2422, ext. 2.

The pass is seasonally closed on or about Nov. 26 and reopens for Memorial Day weekend most years, allowing access to Naylor Lake on the Clear Creek County side of the 24-mile road, and Burning Bear Campground on the Park County side. There are also about 10 first-come, first-served camping spots at Leavenworth Creek Road, which is about 2 miles from Georgetown. Leavenworth Creek Road requires a high-clearance vehicle to traverse.

The pass is a favorite of leaf-peepers, as aspens line the mountains.

  • Fall leaves - Guanella Pass 2
    Fall foliage peaking on Guanella Pass on Oct. 2, 2023. (KDVR)
  • A motorist drives the highway on Guanella Pass lined with the changing Aspen trees near Georgetown, Colo., on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005. Leaf peeping, a nickname given to the tradition of viewing autumn foliage, is a healthy business generating hundreds of millions of dollars from Maine to Washington as tourists visit forests and surrounding towns. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
  • Fall leaves - Guanella Pass
    Fall foliage peaking on Guanella Pass on Oct. 2, 2023. (KDVR)

Clear Creek County also recommended auto tourists consider multi-day trips with activities like:

  • Hiking at Silver Dale, with views of the South Fork Clear Creek, Leavenworth Creek and Georgetown Reservoir

  • Hiking, biking and other activities at Pavilion Point or the old Waldorf Townsite, off of Leavenworth Road

  • Picnicking, walking and fishing at Clear Lake

  • Hiking, biking, scenic views and high-altitude lakes on the Naylor Lake/Silver Dollar Lake trails

Guanella Pass is a scenic and historic byway corridor, according to CDOT.

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