Cameron Pass (Colorado)

Infobox Mountain Pass
Name = Cameron Pass
Photo =
Caption =
Elevation = 3132 m./10,276 ft.
Location = Colorado, USA
Range = Rocky Mountains
Coordinates = coord|40|31|15|N|105|53|33|W|type:pass
Topographic

Traversed by = State Highway 14

Cameron Pass (el. 3132 m./10,276 ft.) is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains in north central Colorado in the United States. The pass is a gap between the south end of the Medicine Bow Mountains and the north end of the Never Summer Mountains. It sits on the border between Jackson County and Larimer County, approximately 3 mi (5 km) north of the boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park. The pass provides the most convenient route between Fort Collins and Walden in North Park, using State Highway 14.

The pass was named for Robert Cameron, the founder of the Fort Collins Agricultural Colony in the 1870s. The pass was surveyed several times for railroads, including once by the Union Pacific Railroad as a possible route for a line through the Rockies. No railroad was ever built over the pass however. The pass is located within Roosevelt National Forest and Colorado State Forest State Park. Parking lots on the east and west sides of the pass, as well as at the summit allow access to nearby trails that are popular both for hiking in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter. The pass receives much snow during the winter months and is prone to avalanches, but it usually remains open all-year round. The pass has a mild approach from the East, and is steep from the West.

The pass is drained on the north side by Joe Wright Creek, a tributary of the Cache la Poudre River in the basin of the South Platte River. It is drained on the south side by the Michigan River, a tributary of the North Platte River in North Park.

External links

* [http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=14&Z=13&X=132&Y=1401&W=1 Cameron Pass topographic map]
* [http://www.topozone.com/viewmaps.asp?method=place&placename=Cameron+Pass&statefips=8 USGS TopoZone listing]
* [http://powderbuzz.com/reports.php?id=ns Cameron Pass weather and avalanche conditions]
* [http://www.CameronPass.org Local Backcountry Advocacy]
* [http://avalanche.state.co.us/Forecasts/Front+Range/ CAIC Avalanche Forecast]