John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints

Highest Roads In North America

Highest Road In The USA

Highest Paved Through Road In The USA

Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Highest Unpaved Through Road In The USA

Bob Mizell of Erie, Michigan, sent me a note to say that the highest unpaved through road in the USA (and possibly in North America) is the Mosquito Pass between Leadville and Fairplay, Colorado. The summit of the pass is 13,186 feet.

Highest Road In The USA East Of The Mississippi

The highest point in the USA east of the Mississippi is Mount Mitchell in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I therefore assume that the spur road from the Blue Ridge Parkway to near the summit of Mount Mitchell is probably the highest road in the USA east of the Mississippi.

Highest Road In Canada

This information was kindly forwarded to me by Ross Hett. It is a reply to an inquiry on the subject made by him, and comes from Carolee Tandberg, Publications Coordinator, Alberta Environmental Protection - Bow Region:

The highest drivable pass in Canada is Highwood Pass (7239 ft.) You can see a picture of the pass by visiting this page which is part of the Kananaskis Country web site: http://www.gov.ab.ca/env/parks/prov_parks/kananaskis/elevations.html

This road is Highway 40 in Kananaskis County, Alberta (southwest of Calgary). On the 2000 official Alberta Highway Map it is shown as paved and the altitude of the summit of Highwood Pass is labelled as being 2205m, which almost exactly agrees with 7239ft. The map also shows that the road is closed from 1-Dec to 15-Jun. Initially I thought that the closure dates would depend on snowfall and spring melt, until Erik Bakke sent me this interesting information:

The main reason for the closure extending to June 15 is to facilitate elk, big horn sheep, deer and moose doing their spring grazing during that time. As well, with spring babies being born, predators are attracted to the area. But the road is closed to motorised vehicles only, making this some of the best early season cycling with no traffic. Just look out for animals, they are often on the road.

Curtis Gibb commented:

Every year we bike over the Highwood Pass the Saturday before it opens to motorised vehicles, and I can tell you it was paved well before 1994 when BC put out their map saying their road was the highest.

Knowbc.com (external link verified Dec-02) claims that British Columbia Highway 3 over the Kootenay Pass west of Creston is the highest paved road in Canada. The summit of Kootenay Pass is listed on that web page (and also shown on the 1994 official British Columbia road map) as being 1774m, which is 5820ft. Therefore this claim would appear to be false.

There may well be paved or unpaved spur roads or four-wheel drive roads in the Canadian Rockies or in the Yukon which reach greater heights. If you have information on this subject then please email me using the link at the bottom of this page.

Highest Road In Mexico

I don't have any information regarding the highest road in Mexico. If anyone knows this, please email me using the link at the bottom of this page.

Highest Railroad In The USA

The highest railroad in the USA is the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad, Colorado. The summit of Pikes Peak is 14,100 feet and the railroad nearly reaches this. There is also a toll road to the summit of Pikes Peak, which is paved for the first seven of its nineteen miles. The road is closed in winter.

Steepest Railroad Gradient In The USA East Of The Mississippi

According to information posted on a web site, which is unverified but which I have no reason to disbelieve, the steepest railroad gradient east of the Mississippi River in the USA is Saluda Grade in western North Carolina, at 6%.

Comments

As far as I know the information on this page is accurate. Anyone who wishes to submit any rival claims should please email me using the link at the bottom of this page.

It should be remembered that these are the highest roads in each category in terms of their absolute height of their highest points above sea level, not their relative height above the points where the climb commences.

Colorado

Mountain Roads

Scenic Roads

Winter Driving Conditions and Winter Road Closures

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As with all the other pages on this personal web site, all the information on this page is solely the opinion of the author, who has no connection whatsoever with any of the companies and organisations mentioned other than as an actual or potential customer.

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Most recently modified 27-Jul-04