Dick Pass
The main attraction of Dick Pass is its isolation and
obscurity. Who ever heard of Dick Pass ? Actually the name
used to be printed on highway maps. The pass flanks what
must be one of the longest hogback mountains in the US.
The appropriately named "Grand Hogback" winds
from approximately Glenwood Springs, over 75 miles to
Meeker, crossing the Colorado River west of New Castle,
and negotiating a 90 degree turn from trending west to
straight north. The route over Dick Pass shown here begins
on the west side of the Grand Hogback, crosses it through
Rifle Gap and then stays in the valley between the Grand
Hogback and the White River Plateau. The pass crosses a
water divide between Thirteen Mile Creek and Fourteen Mile
Creek in the process. These names don't say much about the
area. But maybe they tell us something about the people
that named them. The most scenic area along the way is
arguably the West Rifle Creek SWA in the Rifle Gap area.
Here the Grand Hogback reaches its highest relief above
the valley.
click on profile for more detail
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01.(6210ft,mile00) START-END NORTH:
downtown Meeker, Golf Club road leaves towards
south.
02.(6210ft,mile01) take right
03.(6800ft,mile08) stay right in valley
04.(8148ft,mile16) first summit
05.(7910ft,mile17) junction with Thirteen Mile Creek
06.(8153ft,mile17) TOP: second summit, Dick Pass
07.(7906ft,mile18) junction with Fourteen Mile Creek
08.(8124ft,mile19) third summit
09.(7600ft,mile22) dirt road connecting with Co13
and leaves on right
10.(6080ft,mile31) road up Middle Rifle Creek and
prison leaves on left
11.(6080ft,mile33) route becomes paved. Continue on
right through Rifle Gap
12.(5580ft,mile37) junction with Co13. Profile
continues to Rifle on left.
13.(5290ft,mile41) START-END SOUTH: Rifle
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Approaches
From North. Golf Course road leaves Meeker's main
street near the south end of town. Immediately after crossing
the White River, 13rd branches to the right. The initial paved
miles climb intermittently past rolling farm land. The Grand
Hogbag begins to ramp up to the west, while the east side is
bordered by the initial slope of the White River Plateau. The
road surface is slightly gravelly until the junction with
36rd. After that a smooth clay track continues to climb
towards a high point ahead. Cows seem to outnumber cars by
several hundred to one on this stretch. The gap turns out to
be a false summit, and the steepest climbing is before the
real summit.
From South. The route leaves Rifle's north side on
Co13. Co325 climbs to Rifle Gap and its reservoir on smooth
hardtop. Once through the gap, the 252rd runs north between
the Grand Hogback and the White River Plateau, and stays there
to the summit. The gravel on the initial miles of 252rd is
quite bad, maybe because of heavy visitor traffic to the
Rifle correctional facility. This is also the junction with
Middle Rifle Creek. Past this point the surface improves
somewhat. Signs near the first and second summit warn of
crossing private land. Even though the utter lack of traffic
may not make it appear that way, this is a public road
maintained by tax money, and needlessly to say usable and
bikable by everybody.
An alternative route which is not shown on the profile
stays on the east side of the Grand Hogback. In this option
the junction of Co325 and 252rd is reached by the paved 225rd
over a minor summit from New Castle.
Tours
Dayrides.
Two Day Tour ( dirt roads and pavement ): Here is a
two day loop between New Castle and Meeker: day 1: Meeker >
Dick Pass > Rifle > New Castle, 76 miles with 4160ft of
climbing in 5.4 hours. This includes about 15 extra miles of
extra riding in 1.5 hours and ~500ft of elevation gain. day 2:
New Castle > Buford - New
Castle road summit(u) > Meeker, 69 miles with
5600ft of climbing (m3:05.10.15,16)
History
Modern highways. Dick Pass was the main route
connecting the Colorado River with Meeker. The road predates
today's Co13 on the other side of the Grand Hogback. Dick Pass
was named on the "New Map of Colorado" printed in
1882.
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Colorado Pass Tables Page
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