View source for Fall River Pass

{{Short description|Mountain pass in northern Colorado}}
{{Infobox mountain pass
| name = Fall River Pass
| photo = Trail Ridge pass.jpg
| photo_caption = Trail Ridge Store at Fall River Pass
| elevation_ft = 11,796
| elevation_ref =
| traversed = {{Jct|state=CO|US|34}}
| location = [[Rocky Mountain National Park]], [[Larimer County, Colorado|Larimer County]], [[Colorado|Colorado, U.S.]]
| range = [[Front Range]]
| coordinates = {{coord|40|26|26|N|105|45|17|W|type:pass}}
| topo = [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] Fall River Pass
}}

'''Fall River Pass''' (elevation {{convert|11,796|ft|m}}) is a [[mountain pass]] in  northern [[Colorado]], in the [[Rocky Mountains]] of the [[western United States]]. It is located in the [[Front Range]], within [[Rocky Mountain National Park]]. The pass is traversed by [[U.S. Route 34 in Colorado|U.S. Highway 34]] on [[Trail Ridge Road]] between [[Granby, Colorado|Granby]] and [[Estes Park, Colorado|Estes Park]]. However, as at [[Milner Pass]] on the [[Continental Divide of the Americas|Continental Divide]], the road does not descend after reaching the pass from the west, but instead continues to climb along a side ridge; thus, neither pass is the high point on Trail Ridge Road, which crests at {{convert|12,183|ft|m}} elevation, east of Fall River Pass, still within Rocky Mountain National Park. On the other hand, the old, largely unpaved, and one-way-uphill [[Fall River Road]] (see adjoining map) does have its summit at Fall River Pass, where it joins the modern highway for the descent to the west.

The [[Alpine Visitor Center]], one of five visitor centers for Rocky Mountain National Park, is located at Fall River Pass. The highway has a moderately steep 6% grade on either side of this point.

==Climate==
Willow Park is a weather station near the summit of Fall River Pass. Willow Park has a [[subarctic climate|subalpine climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Dfc''), bordering on an [[alpine climate]] (''ETH''), with only two months averaging over 10°C.
{{Weather box
|location = Willow Park, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, 1988-2020 extremes: 10700ft (3261m)
|single line = Yes

|Jan record high F = 63
|Feb record high F = 74
|Mar record high F = 73
|Apr record high F = 81
|May record high F = 85
|Jun record high F = 89
|Jul record high F = 93
|Aug record high F = 87
|Sep record high F = 82
|Oct record high F = 78
|Nov record high F = 69
|Dec record high F = 61

|Jan avg record high F = 45
|Feb avg record high F = 46
|Mar avg record high F = 53
|Apr avg record high F = 58
|May avg record high F = 66
|Jun avg record high F = 71
|Jul avg record high F = 74
|Aug avg record high F = 73
|Sep avg record high F = 69
|Oct avg record high F = 61
|Nov avg record high F = 51
|Dec avg record high F = 44
|year avg record high F = 76

|Jan high F = 28.5
|Feb high F = 29.9
|Mar high F = 38.1
|Apr high F = 42.8
|May high F = 51.4
|Jun high F = 60.1
|Jul high F = 65.9
|Aug high F = 63.4
|Sep high F = 57.5
|Oct high F = 46.2
|Nov high F = 34.6
|Dec high F = 27.1
|year high F = 

|Jan mean F = 17.9
|Feb mean F = 18.8
|Mar mean F = 25.7
|Apr mean F = 30.2
|May mean F = 38.5
|Jun mean F = 47.1
|Jul mean F = 52.4
|Aug mean F = 50.6
|Sep mean F = 44.9
|Oct mean F = 34.6
|Nov mean F = 24.3
|Dec mean F = 16.8
|year mean F = 

|Jan low F = 7.2
|Feb low F = 7.3
|Mar low F = 13.1
|Apr low F = 18.2
|May low F = 26.0
|Jun low F = 33.1
|Jul low F = 38.9
|Aug low F = 37.7
|Sep low F = 32.5
|Oct low F = 23.5
|Nov low F = 14.3
|Dec low F = 6.9
|year low F = 

|Jan avg record low F=  -12
|Feb avg record low F=  -10
|Mar avg record low F=  -6
|Apr avg record low F =  2
|May avg record low F =  11
|Jun avg record low F =  26
|Jul avg record low F =  33
|Aug avg record low F =  31
|Sep avg record low F =  20
|Oct avg record low F =  5
|Nov avg record low F =  -5
|Dec avg record low F =  −13
|year avg record low F = −17

|Jan record low F = -24
|Feb record low F = -34
|Mar record low F = -17
|Apr record low F = -18
|May record low F = -2
|Jun record low F = 11
|Jul record low F = 28
|Aug record low F = 20
|Sep record low F = 7
|Oct record low F = -20
|Nov record low F = -22
|Dec record low F = -21

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 3.87
|Feb precipitation inch = 3.79
|Mar precipitation inch = 3.75
|Apr precipitation inch = 4.87
|May precipitation inch = 3.92
|Jun precipitation inch = 1.83
|Jul precipitation inch = 1.95
|Aug precipitation inch = 2.15
|Sep precipitation inch = 2.16
|Oct precipitation inch = 2.86
|Nov precipitation inch = 3.33
|Dec precipitation inch = 3.60
|year precipitation inch = 

|source 1 = XMACIS2<ref name = XMACIS2>
{{cite web
|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = xmACIS2
|access-date = November 3, 2023
}}
</ref>
|source 2 = NOAA (Precipitation)<ref name = NOAA>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USS0005J40S&format=pdf
|title= Willow Park, Colorado 1991-2020 Monthly Normals 
|access-date = November 3, 2023
}}
</ref>
}}

==Picture gallery==

<gallery>
Image:Fall River Pass Map.jpg|Map By USGS
</gallery>
<gallery>
Image:Fall River Pass 2.3 Miles Sign.jpg|2.3 Miles High
Image:Fall River Pass Creek.jpg| Creek At Fall River Pass
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.topozone.com/viewmaps.asp?method=place&placename=Fall+River+Pass&statefips=8 USGS TopoZone listing]
*[http://www.rmnp.com/RMNP-Areas-TrailRidge-AlpineVisitorCenter.HTML Official Site]

{{Coord|40|26|26|N|105|45|17|W|type:pass|display=title}}

{{Rocky Mountain National Park}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Landforms of Larimer County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Mountain passes of Colorado]]
[[Category:Rocky Mountain National Park]]
[[Category:Transportation in Larimer County, Colorado]]