Colorado Gold - Cameron Pass
Cameron Pass (el. 3132 m./10,276 ft.) is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains in north central Colorado in theUnited 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.
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Photos of Cameron Pass by Lauren Porter
"When you visit the mountains it is like a meditation, but much better! There your body can relax, and your mind can fly. There are no limits. There you never know what is around the corner. There could be nothing. Or there could be everything for you. The Poudre canyon and Cameron pass have so much to offer! Breathtaking scenery of unusual steep mountains, a crystal clear river with rapids and waterfalls, wildlife, a nice road, good services for visitors, lots of activities around the year – all of this you can find here."
- Olga Lobankova, P2P participant
"Cameron Pass is full of beauty and activities year-round, by my favorite time to visit is late July, because the amount of wildflowers, particularly Columbines (Colorado's state flower), is astronomical. I have sat down in a field of them and was completely lost in the beauty of the small purple and white flowers. Cameron Pass is definitely a wonderful place for others to visit and to witness this beauty for themselves."
- Lauren Porter, P2P participant
⇐ HOW TO GET TO THE POUDRE CANYON
More locations in The Poudre Canyon
Mishawaka and Mishawaka Amphitheater
Vern's Place is a great place to stop for a cinnamon roll or bit to eat before heading up the canyon.
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GLOSSARY
Rafting or whitewater rafting is a challenging recreational activity utilizing a raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water.
Yurts are small cabins that people can rent to stay in while hiking, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing.
Backcountry skiing is skiing in areas that are not in a designated ski resort. Oftentimes people will have someone drop them off at the top (or put skins on their skis in order to climb up) and then descend on untouched snow.
Created by Lauren Porter and Olga Lobankova