Cameron Pass (elevation ) is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

in north-central

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

of the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

. 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 Larimer County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins, Colorado, Fort Colli ...

, approximately 3 mi (5 km) north of the boundary of

Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located approximately northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is s ...

. The pass provides the most convenient route between Fort Collins and

Walden ''Walden'' (; first published as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is an 1854 book by American transcendentalism, transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. T ...

in North Park, using State Highway 14. The pass was named for Robert Cameron, the founder of the Fort Collins Agricultural Colony and former Union general, in 1870. The pass was surveyed several times for

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

s, including once by the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

as a possible route for a line through the Rockies. However, no railroad was ever built over the pass. The pass is located at the boundary of the

Roosevelt National Forest The Roosevelt National Forest is a National Forest located in north central Colorado. It is contiguous with the Colorado State Forest as well as the Arapaho National Forest and the Routt National Forest. The forest is administered jointly w ...

and the 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 A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

in the summer and

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

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 West where the road rises out of the broad North Park area, and is steep from the East where the road climbs from Fort Collins up the narrow

Poudre River The Cache la Poudre River ( ), also known as the Poudre River, is a rivers of the United States, river in the state of Colorado in the United States. Name The name, , is a corruption of the original , or "wikt:cache, cache of powder". It re ...

valley. The pass is drained on the north side by a tributary of the Cache la Poudre River, Joe Wright Creek, in the basin of the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sou ...

. It is drained on the south side by the Michigan River, a tributary of the

North Platte River The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long, counting its many curves.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 21, 2011 I ...

in North Park.

Climate

The Joe Wright weather station is at the summit of Cameron Pass. Cameron Pass has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfc'').

References

{{reflist

External links

Local Backcountry AdvocacyCAIC Avalanche ForecastSNOTEL - Joe WrightSNOTEL - Never Summer
Mountain passes of Colorado Landforms of Larimer County, Colorado Landforms of Jackson County, Colorado Transportation in Larimer County, Colorado Transportation in Jackson County, Colorado