Cottonwood Pass is set to close for the winter season this Friday at 6 a.m. The pass, which reaches an elevation of 12,120 feet, connects Chaffee and Gunnison Counties via Chaffee County Road 306 and Gunnison County Road 209. Due to heavy snow accumulation, Cottonwood Pass typically closes in mid-fall and reopens around late spring.
Starting Friday, motor vehicles (except for snowmobiles and snowcats) will not be allowed beyond the winter closure gate at the Denny Creek Trailhead.
Independence Pass (Highway 82 between Aspen and Twin Lakes) closed on Monday ahead of a winter storm. The Colorado Department of Transportation will decide today if it will reopen before the season’s end.
