Vail Pass
Vail Pass, with an elevation of 10,666 feet, is a high mountain pass in
the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado. Vail Pass sits along the
boundary between Eagle and Summit counties, between Vail on the west
and Dillon on the east. It provides the route of Interstate 70 (and
earlier U.S. Highway 6) between the upper basins of the Eagle River and
the Blue River, both tributaries of the Colorado River.
Black Gore Creek, a tributary of Gore Creek, in the watershed of the
Eagle, descends from the north side of the pass towards the town of
Vail. West Ten Mile Creek, in the watershed of the Blue, descends from
the south side. Many today do not realize that Vail Pass was not a
traditional historical route of the Rocky Mountains. Prior to 1940, the
most common route westward was over nearby Shrine Pass, just to the
south, which leads to the town of the Red Cliff in the upper Eagle
Valley. In 1940, the construction of U.S. Highway 6 bypassed
Shrine Pass in favor of the current route to the valley of Gore Creek.
Vail Pass was named for Charles Vail, a highway engineer.
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