La Poudre Pass (elevation ), a high mountain pass, is located 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 straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

of northern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

in the

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. The pass straddles the Continental Divide, and separates the

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

of La Poudre Pass Creek, which joins the

Cache la Poudre River The Cache la Poudre River ( ), also known as the Poudre River, is a river in the state of Colorado in the United States. Name The name of the river () is a corruption of the original Cache à la Poudre, or "cache of powder". It refers to an ...

and eventually empties into the

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, from the headwaters of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

, which drains into the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...

. At the pass, the Continental Divide is the boundary between

Grand Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and c ...

and Larimer counties, and is also the northern boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park. The pass itself is a broad, flat, swampy area. In the

wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are Solubility, saturated for part or all of the growing season. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of wetland. Wet prairies and wet savannas are hyd ...

just south of the divide, the Colorado River begins its course as a tiny stream emerging from this area which included the small La Poudre Pass Lake. The Rocky Mountain National Park La Poudre Pass Ranger Station is also located in the pass.''Fall River Pass, Colorado,'' 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1958 (1985 rev.) The pass is traversed by a hiking trail, by the Grand Ditch as it carries water from the Never Summer Mountains into the

Cache La Poudre River The Cache la Poudre River ( ), also known as the Poudre River, is a river in the state of Colorado in the United States. Name The name of the river () is a corruption of the original Cache à la Poudre, or "cache of powder". It refers to an ...

, and by a private, gated, maintenance road for the Grand Ditch. Rock Mountain National Park North Entrance Sign

To access the pass, visitors should follow Long Draw Road south from its junction with State Highway 14 in Poudre Canyon, just east of Cameron Pass. Long Draw Road is unpaved, but can be traveled by regular passenger automobiles. After passing Long Draw Reservoir, the road ends at the La Poudre Pass Trailhead parking area. It's a very short walk from here to the pass, which is marked by the entrance sign to the Rocky Mountain National Park. This sign is also located on the Continental Divide.

References

{{Rocky Mountain National Park Mountain passes of Colorado Landforms of Larimer County, Colorado Landforms of Grand County, Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado River Transportation in Grand County, Colorado Transportation in Larimer County, Colorado