Cottonwood Pass Road reopens early for summer travel in western Colorado

Cottonwood Pass is open again, and this year the high-country connector between Gypsum and the Roaring Fork Valley came back a month earlier than it did in 2025. Eagle County reopened the road Saturday, April 11, 2026, and said it should stay open through the fall if conditions permit.

That opening matters for anyone trying to stitch together a spring or summer loop through western Colorado. The pass can shorten mountain drives, open access to trailheads and campgrounds, and give travelers a scenic alternative between the Eagle River Valley and the Roaring Fork Valley, including the stretch toward Carbondale and Basalt. But this is not a casual cruise road. Eagle County warns that parts of Cottonwood Pass are unpaved and that the route includes many sharp turns and steep drop-offs.

The county’s message is simple: use it if you want the scenery and can handle a rougher mountain drive. Avoid it if you are hauling a tall trailer, a wide camper, or any rig that pushes the limits. Any vehicle over 8 feet 6 inches wide, 14 feet 6 inches high, or 35 feet long requires a permit to travel the pass. The county’s road-use regulations were adopted Aug. 8, 2017, and they still govern who can fit safely through the corridor.

Drivers also need to treat the opening as seasonal, not permanent. Cottonwood Pass closed for the winter on Dec. 5, 2025, from mile marker 2.5 in Gypsum to mile marker 12.5, and Eagle County says there is no winter maintenance once it shuts down. Even with the gate open, state chain and traction guidance still applies if weather turns back toward winter.

Travelers also need to keep this road straight in their heads: this is not the fully paved Cottonwood Pass between Buena Vista and Almont over the Continental Divide. That is a different route entirely. Eagle County and Garfield County described this western Colorado Cottonwood Pass as a dirt and partially paved county road, and that distinction has mattered more since Interstate 70 closures through Glenwood Canyon pushed more traffic onto the pass in 2021.

For hikers, campers, and backcountry planners, the reopening is a welcome head start on summer. For oversized vehicles and anyone who wants a smooth, paved, low-stress drive, the better call is to stay off this one and choose a more conventional route.