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A Roster of Bicycling Passes and Summits

This section contains a partial list of cycling and mountain biking passes in Rocky Mountain and Intermountain Basin states. For Colorado passes, see link above. No claim is made that these are the "most suitable" passes for a bicycle, in some cases just the opposite. See individual descriptions. However it is possible to cross all these routes with a bicycle. As in the Colorado pass tables, paved and other surfaces are included, but the difference is clearly marked. Tables are sorted by highest elevation first. Summits that are not sourced to another publication or map are marked with a (u) behind the designation, indicating that they are unnamed and "unofficial" summits.

Alberta (Canada)
Montana (US)
New Mexico (US)
Utah (US)
Wyoming (US)


 



Alberta (Canada)

- PAVED - Highwood Pass (2227m)  Kananaskis Trail (which is really a road) between Highwood Jct and Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.
- PAVED - Bow Pass (2068m) southern part of Icefields Parkway between Lake Louise and Saskatchewan Crossing
- PAVED - Sunwapta Pass (2027m)northern part of Icefields Parkway between Saskatchewan Crossing and Jasper
- PAVED - Yellowhead Pass (1130m)  low Rockies pass on the Yellowhead Highway to BC with an interesting history.

Montana (US)

- PAVED - Beartooth Pass (10940ft) see Wyoming table
- PAVED - Colter Pass (8066ft) - road through Absaroka mtns between Beartooth Pass (Wy) and Cooke City
- PAVED - Logan Pass (6680ft) - more popularly known as "going to the sun road"; probably America's most esteemed cycle touring pass. In spite of this, cyclists are heavily restricted during what time of day they can cross.
-   MTB   - Whitefish Divide (apr5600ft) northernmost pass on the Great Divide Bicycle Trail. From West: Eureka (2577ft). From East: Trail Creek (3800ft).



 



New Mexico (US)

The Sangre de Cristo mountains of northern New Mexico have several paved passes and a wealth of MTB summits, some of which are as hard to find as they are ancient, dating back to spanish colonial or pueblo native times.

-   MTB   - Cabresto Canyon -Valle Vidal divide(u) (high point: apr 11100ft): combination of dirt roads, fence line trails and abandoned lumber roads east of Questa (7500ft) and Costilla.
-   MTB   - FR437 summit: Talpa -Valle Escondido(u) (top: apr. 10000ft). Sangre de Cristo dirt road between Talpa (Taos area) and "valle escondido" development..
-   MTB   - Lagunita Saddle (high point: apr 10600ft, saddle height apr 10400ft) Sangre de Cristo gravel/ jeep route between Questa and Red River or on the way to Valle Vidal.
-   MTB   - Quintana Pass (high point: apr 10300ft, pass height: 9750ft) Sangre de Cristo Range; part of South Boundary single track trail between Taos area and Angelfire.
-   MTB   - Costilla Pass (top: apr 10200ft) abandoned forest roads through scenic Valle Vidal to a forested pass with any number of confusing approaches (east of Costilla); Sangre de Cristo Range.
-   MTB   - Chosa Pass (high point along route: apr 9900ft, pass altitude apr. 9600ft) dirt road in Taos/ Angelfire area.
-   MTB   - Red River Pass (top: 9854ft): Sangre de Cristo range; dirt road between Red River and Eagles Nest area;
- PAVED - Bobcat Pass (top: 9820ft): paved NM 38 between Eagles Nest (8311ft) and Questa (7500ft); Sangre de Cristo Range..
-   MTB   - Osha Pass (top: apr. 9800ft): Sangre de Cristo range; double track trail near "el valle escondido" development and Angel Fire Resort.
- PAVED - Palo Flechado Pass (top: 9101ft): paved US64 between Taos (apr 6950ft) and Eagles Nest (8311ft). Marketed to tourists under the name "enchanted circle route"; ancient route to Taos formerly called Taos pass.




 



Utah (US)

Utah plays a special role when it comes to cycling summits. There are quite a few alpine passes, such as one would expect to find in Colorado. In addition there is a rich variety of climbs leading from desserts or canyons to lush plateau landscapes. Utah state maps often  indicate road summits without naming them. The table contains some of these marked, but unnamed summits, in addition to others that have a "summit" sign on top. In the case of marked, but unnamed summits, the pass is identified under the name of the most prominent canyon leading up to it, or by the road number and nearby towns. As in the other tables, summits that are not sourced by any maps, books or signs are marked with (u).

-   MTB   - Abajo Loop Road summit(u) (top: apr. 10000ft): good dirt road from Blanding (5900ft) to Monticello (7050ft). An uncharacteristic crossing of this road is described under the the heading "over the Abajo Mountains" on this page.
- PAVED - Cedar Canyon Summit (top: 9900ft): marked on commercial road maps; From west: Massive climb from Cedar City through wild rock formations to forested plateau. Far overlook to Zion area shortly before top. Continuing east over top: this is the geological dip slope, hence more rolling hills and gentler grade than on the other side. During end April 2005, snowdepth next to the road on the summit was in excess of 11 feet. Many snow machines visible on the eastern side.
- PAVED - Ut 264 Scofield - Fairview summit(u) (top: apr. 9150 ft altimeter measurement), unmarked summit on Wasatch plateau with very little traffic.
-   MTB   - Bear's Ears Pass (top: 9059ft): dirt road between Natural Bridges National Monument (apr. 7000ft) and Blanding (5900ft). The road between this pass and Blanding reaches a slightly higher altitude as it crosses forested plateau to Blanding.
- PAVED - Indian Canyon Summit  (apr 9050ft): Ut191 over Wastch Plateau between and Helper and Duchesne
- PAVED - Unita Summit (8428ft): Ut 44 over Uinta Range foothills, between Vernal (5331ft) and Manila (6236ft), or Flaming Gorge dam; marked on commercial maps.
- PAVED - Daniel's Summit also called Strawberry Pass (apr 8000ft): US40 over Wasatch Plateau between Heber and Duchesne.
- PAVED - Alpine loop road summit (top: apr 7900ft): Wasatch Range; paved Ut92 from Provo Canyon to American Fork Canyon.
- PAVED - Logan Canyon summit (top: 7805ft): paved road; marked on commercial and state sponsored road maps; US89 between Logan (apr.4450ft) and Garden City (apr.5930ft); 39 miles. From west 26 miles. massive Mississippian limestone cliffs dominate the lower part of Logan Canyon. Continuing east over summit leads to beautiful Bear Lake, 12 miles.
- PAVED - Red Canyon summit (top:7619ft): road with paved biketrail; not marked on state maps but summit sign without name at top. Form west: UT 12 from junction with US 89 a few miles south of Panguitch, to Bryce Canyon National Park. Good warm up climb. Continuing over pass north: paved, almost entirely traffic free road with minimum grade to Antimony. Continuing over summit east: extremely scenic road with minimum grade to Henryville.
- PAVED - Soldier Summit (7477ft): paved road over Wasatch Plateau between Helper and Thistle Jct.
- PAVED - Big Mountain Pass/Little Mountain Summit, double summit (top:7420ft): Wasatch Range pass into the heart of Salt Lake City. Also called Emigration/ East Canyon summits.
-   MTB   - summit south of Alton (top: apr.6900ft): partially unpaved road; marked on commercial maps; road joins US 89 apr. 5 miles of Long Valley Jct and US 89 10 miles east of Kanab (spot also marked as Crescent Butte ). From south: Johnson Canyon road is paved and very scenic entering Escalante Cliffs National Monument. At junction with jeep trail to Henryville, road becomes a sandy washboard, difficult to ride. Shorter approach on Glendale Bench road also possible. But it also seems to be very sandy. There is no easily percievable highpoint along the route. The only nice scenery after Johnson Canyon is the pink Paunsaugunt Plateau ( Bryce Canyon on top ) from near Alton. From north: From Jct with US 89, apr. 5 paved, easy traffic free miles through sleepy Alton to the summit.
- PAVED - US89 Mt. Carmel Jct - Kanab summit (top: 6650ft), 17 miles: paved road with wide shoulder; marked on commercial and state sponsored maps. Relatively small climb. From south : Kanab (4856ft) through Vermillion cliffs. From north Mt Carmel Jct (apr.5500ft).
- PAVED - US89 Thistle Jct - Fairview summit (top: 6435ft), very shallow valley summit that is marked on state maps; good shoulder without rumble strips, little traffic.
- PAVED - Provo Canyon summit (top: apr. 5700ft): US189 between Provo (4550ft) and Heber City (5593ft), not indicated as summit on maps but included in the Spraque Roster of passes, excellent paved bike trail on eastern side, dangerous dropoffs and traffic due to construction on west side as of May/05, Silver Summit (or Silver Jct) can be considered as an extension of that summit.
-   MTB   - Thompson Pass (top: apr.5500ft): dirt/jeep road 5 miles north of Crescent Junction up Flory Canyon road; marked on page 40 of deLorme Utah atlas and Gazeteer; low pass with very small climb in Book Cliffs.
- PAVED - Monument Pass (top: 5209ft): US163 between Mexican Hat (4200ft) and Kayenta (Az), rolling hills through scenic desert country, without shoulders but with lots of natural monuments. At least one commercial map shows this summit in Arizona, but de Lorme Gazeteer map shows highpoint in Utah.
-   MTB   - Indian Head Pass (top: apr. 5000ft): on Squaw Rock dirt road 15 miles se of Hite (3900ft), rolling desert canyon country without identifiable sustained climb. The real climb is southeast of here into Canyon Rims Rec area and towards Dark Canyon.
-   MTB   - Dee Pass (top: apr. 4500ft): dirt/jeep road south of exit 173 on I70 near Crescent Junction; marked on page 40 of deLorme Utah Atlas and Gazeteer, no discernible climb from north; continuing south the pass leads down a small hill to a sanddune area unsuitable for MTB bicycling; very scenic Green River Canyon area.

Wyoming (US)

- PAVED - Beartooth Pass (10940ft): Beartooth Highway between Red Lodge (Mt) and Cooke City (Mt).
- PAVED - Snowy Range Pass (10800ft): paved Wy130 between Laramie and Saratoga over Medicine Bow Range.
- PAVED - Battle Lake Pass (9916ft): paved Wyo70 over forested Sierra Madre Range between Riverside/ Encampment and Dixon (6520ft). May still contain some short unpaved sections.
- PAVED - Powder River Pass (9666ft): Bighorn Range; US16 between Buffalo and Tensleep; double summit also goes over Muikress Pass (9500ft). Canyon and badlands on Tensleep side; has been part of RAW, the Ride Across Wyoming.
-   MTB   - Union Pass (9210ft): long dirt road between US26 near Du Noir (Dubois area), and Wy352 about 25 miles north of Pinedale; runs north-south west of Wind River Range. Crossed by Hunt's Astorians in 1811 and was the cause of much confusion for its compilcated drainages during fur trapper days.
- PAVED - Foxpark Divide (9142ft): Wy230 crosses foothills of Mecine Bow mountains between Wood's Landing and Walden (Co).
- PAVED - Granite Pass (8950ft): Bighorn Range; US14 between Shell and Ranchester; has been part of RAW, the Ride Across Wyoming.
-   MTB   - Cheyenne Pass (8591ft): Laramie Hills; partially paved Happy Jack Road between Cheyenne and Sherman Hill Summit. From there Telephone Canyon decends into Laramie.
- PAVED - Craig Pass (8260ft): geographicall muddled CD crossing in Yellowstone National Park. By appearance indistinguisable from other points along the road. The pass is remarkable for its confusing geography. The road crosses from Atlantic to Pacific watersheds while going west to east.
-   MTB   - Sherman Hill Summit (8235ft): Laramie Hills; I80 crosses 1 mile northwest of old historic summit. The historic summit can be reached by a 1 mile dirtroad detour. This was the highest point on the Union Pacific section of the first transcontinental railroad.
-   MTB   - Antelope Pass (8050ft): Laramie Hills; dirt road between Tie Siding and I80. Road follows UP railroad between Hermosa and Dale Creek. This road also crosses the old historical Shermann Hill Summit. In these shallow sage hills wind is often the primary challenge.
- PAVED - Dead Indian Pass (8048ft): Chief Joseph Highway over Absaroka Mtns between Cody area and Cooke City (Mt).
- PAVED - Cache La Poudre Pass (apr. 8000ft): historical name for US285 between Laramie (7200ft) and Fort Colllins (Co), rolling Front Range foothills. Summit is just south of Tie Siding.
- PAVED - Salt River Pass (7616ft): low pass between Montpelier, Idaho and Smoot, Star Valley Wyoming.
- PAVED - Morton Pass (apr.7300ft): Laramie Hills, between Bosler (apr. 7000ft) and Wheatland (apr. 5000ft), 65 miles. Barely discenible grade on Bolser (west) side, and windswept inclined plains instead of mountains; also called Sybille Pass in Spraque's book "The Great Gates".
-   MTB   - Birdseye Pass (6993ft): dirt road/ double track trail over Owl Creek Mtns between Boysen Reservoir (4890ft) and Thermopolis (4085ft).





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