No turning back: Colorado’s original mountain road climbs straight to the tundra: According to reports

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It’s the park’s original high country route
Old Fall River Road doesn’t let you rush. This one-way dirt climb through Rocky Mountain National Park tops out at 15 miles per hour, and once you start, there’s no turning around. The road runs about nine miles uphill from a green river valley to the alpine tundra, passing waterfalls, elk, and meadows that most people on the paved highway never see. It opened in 1920 as the park’s first route to the high country, and the slow pace is the whole point. Wikimedia Commons/U.S. National Archives
Prison inmates dug the first three miles by hand
Construction started in 1913, and it took seven years to finish. Colorado State Prison inmates carved the first three miles using nothing but hand tools, working through steep, rocky terrain that didn’t want a road. Contractors came in later to push the route the rest of the way up. On Sept. 14, 1920, the road opened to automobiles for the first time. You can still feel the roughness of that original work under your tires today. Shutterstock
Elk graze right beside the road at the start
You pick up the road near the Endovalley Picnic Area at about 8,600 feet, easiest to reach through the Fall River Entrance on the park’s east side. A map posted at the start marks every sight along the way up. The first stretch winds through meadows and aspen groves, and elk graze in those open fields so close to the road you could almost count their eyelashes. Roll your windows down and take the whole thing in. Wikimedia Commons/Bradley Furlow
A dam break left boulders scattered across the valley
Early in the drive, you reach the Alluvial Fan, a wide field of boulders fanning across the valley floor. A dam at Lawn Lake broke in 1982, sending water and rock rushing downhill and spreading debris everywhere you look. A wheelchair-accessible walkway lets you get right into the middle of it. Small cascades still tumble through the rocks, and signs along the path explain how the floods reshaped this stretch of ground in a single day. Wikimedia Commons/Carol M. Highsmith
Chasm Falls drops through a narrow rock gorge
Just up the road, a pullout marks the walk to Chasm Falls. A short, steep path brings you down to a waterfall that tumbles through a tight rock gorge directly below the road.

Morning light catches the spray and makes the wet stone glow. The whole stop takes maybe 15 minutes, but it’s one of the most popular pauses on the drive. You hear the water before you see it, and the gorge funnels the sound straight up toward you. Flickr/exit78
Switchbacks climb the steep face of Mount Chapin
Past the falls, the road starts climbing in earnest along the south face of Mount Chapin. Thick subalpine forest closes in on both sides, and the air cools and thins with every mile you gain. Narrow switchbacks and sharp turns wind up the mountainside, and pull-outs let you stop safely when the views behind you start to open up. You’ll want to use them. The higher you go, the more the valley floor drops away below. Shutterstock
Marmots whistle and traffic stops for elk crossings
The drive is one of the best places in the park to spot wildlife without leaving your car. Elk and mule deer show up in the meadows and forest edges. Higher up, yellow-bellied marmots whistle from rock piles and pikas dart between boulders. Bighorn sheep appear on the slopes, and you might even catch a moose in the trees. Sometimes traffic comes to a full stop so animals can cross the road on their own schedule. Flickr/Tony Webster
Trees disappear and the tundra takes over
Near the top, the forest thins and then just stops. You cross into alpine tundra, a treeless world of low plants, lichen, and bare rock where the wind hits you sideways. The land opens into wide views that stretch to the horizon in every direction. This shift from dense forest to open sky happens in just a few miles, and when you step out of the car up here, the silence and the scale of the landscape hit you at the same time. Wikimedia Commons/Thomson M
Trails above 11,000 feet lead toward the peaks
The Chapin Pass Trailhead sits near the top of the road, and from here you can hike toward Mount Chapin and the neighboring summits. These trails start well above 11,000 feet, so the thin air makes every step feel like two. Take it slow and drink water often. The payoff is a perspective you can’t get from the road, with ridgelines and snowfields spreading out around you and nobody else in sight for miles. Wikimedia Commons/Thomson M
The visitor center sits at 11,796 feet above sea level
Old Fall River Road ends at the Alpine Visitor Center at Fall River Pass, 11,796 feet up.

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That makes it the highest visitor center in the entire National Park System. Step outside and the cold hits fast, even in July. An observation deck gives you wide views across the tundra and surrounding peaks, and exhibits inside explain how plants and animals survive at this altitude. The thin air up here will remind you just how high you’ve climbed. Wikimedia Commons/Rationalobserver
No guardrails and a 16 percent grade the whole way
The road is unpaved, narrow, and winding from bottom to top. In places, the grade climbs as steep as 16 percent. Vehicles over 25 feet and anything towing a trailer can’t make the drive. There are no guardrails, so you take every turn slow and steady. Cell service drops out in most spots along the route, so don’t count on your phone for directions or emergencies. A paper map and a full tank of gas go a long way up here. Wikimedia Commons/Dariusz Kowalczyk
Trail Ridge Road brings you back down in style
Since the road only goes one way up, you come back down on paved Trail Ridge Road. That route adds even more overlooks and wide alpine views, and together the two roads make a full loop through the high country. The contrast tells the whole story of how park travel has changed over 100 years. One road is dirt, slow, and raw. The other is smooth and modern. Driving both in a single day gives you the complete picture. Wikimedia Commons/Tony Webster
Drive Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park
You can pick up Old Fall River Road near the Endovalley Picnic Area inside Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The nine-mile climb ends at the Alpine Visitor Center at Fall River Pass. The road typically opens by early July and closes to vehicles in fall, so check the park’s official website for current conditions before you plan your trip. A park entrance pass covers access, and no separate fee applies for the road itself. This article was created with AI assistance and human editing. Read more from this brand:

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The post No turning back: Colorado’s original mountain road climbs straight to the tundra appeared first on When In Your State.