Ute Pass (Rampart Range)

The Ute Pass /'//j//uː//t/ is a mountain pass west of Colorado Springs that ranges from a peak elevation at Divide of at its lowest point.

About 75,000 years ago glaciers moved down the sides of what became Pikes Peak. Over time, the ground also thrusted upward. The combination of the change in terrain from the moving tectonic plates and the sculpting of rock due to the moving boulders created the steep canyons of the Ute Pass entrance. From the entrance of Ute Pass at Manitou Springs and for about 5 miles, the terrain is steep canyon land and the road has many curves. The terrain becomes less steep, eventually becoming "gentle u shaped valleys" near the summit at Divide.

Ute Pass is located west of Colorado Springs, to the north of Pikes Peak and is located along U. S. Highway 24. From west to east, the pass traverses through Divide, Woodland Park, Green Mountain Falls, Chipita Park and Cascade.

Ute Trail, which runs along the north side of Pikes Peak is believed to have first been a buffalo trail that delivered buffalo from the "milder winter pastures of the eastern plains" to the "lush, grassy" meadows of South Park, Colorado during the summer months. Joel Palmer wrote in his 1847 Journal of Travels over the Rocky Mountains: "These (buffalo) paths are remarkable in their appearance, being about 15 inches wide, and four inches deep, and worn into the soil as smoothly as they could be cut with a spade." Stephen Harriman Long wrote of his 1820s travel through the Pikes Peak region that Ute Trail was used by bison and Native Americans. For the Utes, the trail and pass was used to transport salt from Bayou Salade, the salt valley of South Park, to Santa Fe and Taos for trade. Ute Trail became a wagon road in the 1860s providing transport to Leadville mining camp. Tourism began to be a major economic force in the late 19th century and towns along Ute Pass built cabins and hotels as a result.