Kenosha Pass: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|American mountain pass in Colorado, US}}

{{Infobox Mountainmountain Passpass

| Name = Kenosha Pass

| Photoname = Kenosha2.jpgKenosha Pass

| photo = Kenosha2.jpg

| Caption = East side of the pass

| photo_caption = Looking north toward the Front Range after the pass.

| Elevation = 3048 m./10,001 ft.

| elevation_ft = 9576

| Location = [[Colorado]], {{USA}}

| elevation_ref = <ref name=GNIS>{{cite gnis|id= 183189 |name=Kenosha Pass|accessdate=2011-02-14}}</ref>

| Range = [[Front Range]]

| traversed = {{Jct|state=CO|US|285}}

| Coordinates = {{coor d|39.413|N|105.758|W|type_mountain}}

| ___location = [[Park County, Colorado|Park County]], [[Colorado|Colorado, U.S.]]

| Topographic map = [http://www.topozone.com/viewmaps.asp?method=place&placename=Kenosha+Pass&statefips=8 USGS TopoZone listing]| Traversed by = [[U.S. Highway 285]]

| Rangerange = [[Front Range]], [[Kenosha Mountains]]

| coordinates = {{coord|39|24|48|N|105|45|24|W|display=inline,title|type:pass_region:US}}

| topo = USGS Jefferson

}}

'''Kenosha Pass''', elevation 3048 {{convert|10000|ft|m (10|abbr=on}},001 ft) is a high [[mountain pass]] located in the [[Rocky Mountains]] of central [[Colorado]] in the [[United States]].

[[File:KenoshaPassSign.jpg|thumb|right|The pass sign.]]

The pass is located in the [[Front Range]] southwest of [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]] in northern [[Park County, Colorado|Park County]], just northeast of the town of [[Jefferson, Colorado|Jefferson]]. [[Geology|Geologically]], the pass is located atop a large [[granite]] [[batholith]] (known as the Kenosha Batholith) that forms the spine of the Front Range along the eastern side of [[South Park (Colorado basin)|South Park]]. It is traversed by [[U.S. Highway 285]] between Jefferson and [[Grant, Colorado|Grant]], and provides a route between the valley of the [[North Fork South Platte River]] and the headwaters of the [[South Platte River]] in South Park. In addition to providing one of the principal access routes to South Park, the pass offers dramatic view of the surrounding Rockies, including the nearby peaks of [[Mount Evans]] and [[Mount Bierstadt]].

The pass is located in the [[FrontRocky RangeMountains]] southwest of [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]] in northern [[Park County, Colorado|Park County]], just northeast of the town of [[JeffersonFairplay, Colorado|Jefferson]]. [[Geology|Geologically]], the pass is located atop a large [[granite]] [[batholith]] (known as the Kenosha Batholith) that forms the spine of the Front Range along the eastern side of [[South Park (ColoradoPark basinCounty, Colorado)|South Park]]. It is traversed by [[U.S. HighwayRoute 285 in Colorado|US&nbsp;285]] between Jefferson and [[Grant, Colorado|Grant]], and provides a route between the valley of the [[North Fork South Platte River]] and the headwaters of the [[South Platte River]] in South Park. In addition to providing one of the principal access routes to South Park, the pass offers dramatic viewviews of the surrounding Rockies, including the nearby peaks of [[Mount EvansBlue Sky]] and [[Mount Bierstadt]].

==Description==

The pass is easily traversable by most [[vehicle]]s, never reaching above the treeline and featuring easily- negotiable curves along an amply wide highway. The approach on the eastern side is fairly gentle, ascending from near [[Grant, Colorado|Grant]] up a gulch at the headwaters of the North Fork. The western side of the pass has a steeper ascent, winding up the flank of a mountainside east of the town of [[Jefferson, Colorado|Jefferson]]. An overlook on the west side of the pass offers a panoramic view of South Park. The top of the pass is nearly flat and surrounded by the [[Pike National Forest]], with a [[NationalUnited States Forest Service]] campground on the summit.

The pass was used by [[Ute Tribe|Ute]] bands to reach the hunting grounds of South Park. In the [[19th century]] the pass was used by white trappers to traverse the Front Range. During the [[ColoradoPike's Peak Gold Rush]] of the [[1860s]] the pass was heavily used by prospectors eager to reach the [[placer mining|placer]] gold fields at the headwaters of the South Platte near [[Fairplay, Colorado|Fairplay]] and other South Park mining communities. The increase in traffic led to the widening of the trail into a wagon road; during the [[Colorado Silver Boom]] the pass became one of the main routes of entry for eager immigrants to [[Leadville, Colorado|Leadville]], [[Breckenridge, Colorado|Breckenridge]], and [[Aspen, Colorado|ApsenAspen]].

The pass is easily traversable by most [[vehicle]]s, never reaching above the treeline and featuring easily-negotiable curves along an amply wide highway. The approach on the eastern side is fairly gentle, ascending from near [[Grant, Colorado|Grant]] up a gulch at the headwaters of the North Fork. The western side of the pass has a steeper ascent, winding up the flank of a mountainside east of the town of [[Jefferson, Colorado|Jefferson]]. An overlook on the west side of the pass offers a panoramic view of South Park. The top of the pass is nearly flat and surrounded by the [[Pike National Forest]], with a [[National Forest Service]] campground on the summit.

The [[Colorado Trail]] crosses the summit of Kenosha Pass. The trail portion near the campground and heading northwest is popular with mountain bike enthusiasts and hikers.<ref>http://www.coloradotrail.org/segments.html#5 Colorado Trail Information</ref>

The pass was used by [[Ute Tribe|Ute]] bands to reach the hunting grounds of South Park. In the [[19th century]] the pass was used by white trappers to traverse the Front Range. During the [[Colorado Gold Rush]] of the [[1860s]] the pass was heavily used by prospectors eager to reach the [[placer mining|placer]] gold fields at the headwaters of the South Platte near [[Fairplay, Colorado|Fairplay]] and other South Park mining communities. The increase in traffic led to the widening of the trail into a wagon road; during the [[Colorado Silver Boom]] the pass became one of the main routes of entry for eager immigrants to [[Leadville, Colorado|Leadville]], [[Breckenridge, Colorado|Breckenridge]], and [[Aspen, Colorado|Apsen]].

In [[1879]] the pass was traversed by the [[narrow gauge railway|narrow gauge]] [[Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad]], and later the [[Colorado and Southern Railway]], providing the first rail link between Denver and the South Park mining communities such as Fairplay (the tracks were removed byin [[1937]]1938, but the modern highway essentially follows the old road and the railroad route over the pass - most of which is still visible). During this same year of 1879, the [[poet]] [[Walt Whitman]] crossed the pass and described its summit with these words, later published in ''[[Specimen Days]]'':

:''I jot these lines literally at Kenosha summit, where we return, afternoon, and take a long rest, 10,000 feet above sea-level. At this immense height the South Park stretches fifty miles before me. Mountainous chains and peaks in every variety of perspective, every hue of vista, fringe the view...so the whole Western world is, in a sense, but an expansion of these mountains.''<ref>{{cite [web| url=http://etextwww.libbartleby.virginia.educom/etcbin229/toccer-new2?id=WhiPro11185.sgm&imageshtml| title=images/modeng&dataAmerica's Back-Bone| work=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tagSpecimen Days; from Complete Poetry and Collected Prose| author=public&partWhitman, Walt| date=185&division12 September 2022| publisher=div2]Bartleby.com}}</ref>

On July 25, 1936, Denver and Rio Grande Western locomotive #346, which was on loan to the Colorado and Southern at the time, rolled on the east side of the pass as it hit a corner at an estimated speed of ~40 mph. The engineer at the throttle, Eugene K. "Mickey" McGowan, was killed in the wreck. Kenosha Pass and the wreck of Denver & Rio Grande Western locomotive #346 are referenced in the title of the Mark "Hyce" Huber's song "Smells Like Kenosha".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Huber |first1=Mark |title=Smells Like Kenosha LIVE triggering 346 |website=[[YouTube]] |date=15 March 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fryYgRXtjzs}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Huber |first1=Mark |title=Behind the Song: Smells Like Kenosha (the funi derailment one) |website=[[YouTube]] |date=6 February 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWsEj7A3CLI}}</ref>

==External links==

*[http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=14&Z=13&X=136&Y=1363&W=1 Topographic map]

*[http://www.topozone.com/viewmaps.asp?method=place&placename=Kenosha+Pass&statefips=8 USGS TopoZone listing]

==References==

{{coor title d|39.413|N|105.758|W|type_mountain}}

{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Rail mountain passes of the United States]]

[[Category:Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad]]

[[Category:Mountain passes of Colorado]]

[[Category:Landforms of Park County, Colorado]]

[[Category:Transportation in Park County, Colorado]]