Alpine Loop
Engineer Pass, CO

Engineer Pass is one of two major passes on the Alpine Loop and is at 12,800 ft. From this vantage point, the surrounding areas unfold, including Mt. Sneffels (14,150 ft.) to the west and Uncompahgre Peak (14,309 ft.) to the northeast. The extinct Lake City volcanic caldera, which the Alpine Loop encircles, lies to the east. Four-wheel drive vehicles travel this pass today, but at one time it was a toll road, built by Otto Mears. The first stagecoach passed over this road in 1877.