La Poudre Pass (elevation ), a high

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

, 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 in ...

of northern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the 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 western edge of t ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The pass straddles the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

, 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

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, 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 drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

, 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 Ca ...

. 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 commu ...

and Larimer counties, and is also the northern boundary of

Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park is an American national park located approximately northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is situated between the towns of Estes Park to the east and ...

. 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 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 hydrologically ...

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 La Poudre Pass Lake () is a small lake located in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States. The lake is located within Rocky Mountain National Park, generally in La Poudre Pass, just south of the Continental Divide. The lak ...

. 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 The Grand Ditch, also known as the Grand River Ditch and originally known as the North Grand River Ditch, is a water diversion project in the Never Summer Mountains, in northern Colorado in the United States. It is long, wide, and deep on avera ...

as it carries water from the

Never Summer Mountains The Never Summer Mountains are a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in north central Colorado in the United States consisting of seventeen named peaks. The range is located along the northwest border of Rocky Mountain National Park, forming t ...

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 The Poudre Canyon is a narrow verdant canyon, approximately 40 mi (64 km) long, on the upper Cache la Poudre River (called the "Poudre" for short, which locals pronounce as "Pooder") in Larimer County, Colorado in the United States. The ...

, 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