Cordova Pass is a high gravel road that closes for the winter

The Highway of Legends has a higher, rougher cousin: Cordova Pass. It crosses the shoulder of the Spanish Peaks country on a gravel forest road, climbing above 11,000 feet to link the Aguilar side of the county with Cucharas Pass on Colorado Highway 12.

This is a different kind of road than the paved byway. Part of it is gravel, it is narrow and high, and it closes for the winter. So a route that a map shows as a tidy loop may simply not be open when you try it, and even in summer it asks more of a vehicle and a driver than pavement does. There is a picnic area and campground near the top, and trailheads, but services are sparse.

For someone new to the area, the lesson is to tell paved year-round roads apart from seasonal forest roads before you rely on one. A pass like Cordova is a wonderful summer and fall drive and a real connection to the high country, but it is not a snow-season shortcut.

Before driving Cordova Pass, check whether it is open and what the road surface is like with the U.S. Forest Service, and confirm byway conditions with the state.