Monarch Pass — Local services in Poncha Springs

I am writing this review in hopes I save another poor soul from my experience 😂

For the love of your sanity, your passengers sanity, and your vehicles sanity - Do not go up this at night.. it makes sense why I was the only one on this road past 6pm the other night.

I needed to go pick up a dog in Crawford on November 7th and my GPS took me this way (I am not from Colorado). I am also not one to get scared while driving.. Just from June 1, 2023 - this trip I have been to 28 states.. this doesn't count everything I've done before that. I've driven through anything you can think of but this was the first time since 2016 that I actually got nervous while driving. Not only was I nervous, it absolutely destroyed the engine on my car too (Buick Enclave) and my car was in great running condition prior to this.. my mechanic said the slow incline up to 11000+ft, dropping down faster than we went up, and a huge temp differences of where my car has been the 2 weeks prior to the trip (east coast and southern states) is what did it on my car by the time I got back home.. so if you learn anything from my post please take this away

Do not drive it at night (this was my mistake...) You need to be comfortable driving mountain curvy roads to do this trip (this is my favorite type of drive but again, my mistake was doing it at night not knowing where I was) Have chains on you if you're driving when there is snow because you're going to hit it that high up in elevation Make sure your cooling system in your vehicle is up to par.. you don't want to overheat going up it (mine was an engine issue but I could easily see a car wanting to overheat going up this) Make sure your breaks are in really good condition Take your time. If you have someone on your butt, pull over to let them go when you can safely do so

I will be going back in a different vehicle and during daylight because this does seem like a...

Traveling from the Royal Gorge Bridge to Montrose on Highway 50 we crossed Monarch Pass. When we left the Bridge, it was 84 degrees. When we stopped at the visitors center about 1 p.m. it was 58 degrees and windy. Keep in mind you are over 11,000 feet high, and the weather can change quickly. There is a large parking area with plenty of room for the largest motor home, tractor-trailer, as well as cars. The main attraction of the pass is the views of the snow-capped peaks. There is also a restaurant/gift shop/hiking store on top of the pass. The restaurant serves hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, soft drinks, coffee, and other snacks. Monarch Pass is a popular stop for hikers on the Continental Divide Trail and the store is well stocked with food and equipment hikers need. During my brief visit there were two CDT Thru Hikers hanging out trying get a ride into town where they were going to take a couple of days off before continuing their hike toward Canada. Myself and a couple of others in my group treated them to some real “food and drinks.” They were most appreciative. There is a gondola ride here but on the day that we were there it was not operating. Our group enjoyed the stop and ended up spending just about an hour here at Monarch Pass before continuing our journey...

Stopped in July 2020, the "Scenic Ride"/Tram/Gondola was not running so we hiked to the top, about 1 mile each way or 1:30 round trip (it's steep). The trails and views were good, but not as good as Cottonwood pass (the next pass North, from Buena Vista). The gift shop was clean, had bathrooms, and shirts/stickers/souvenirs were reasonably priced. I wouldn't consider this a destination, just a place worth stopping while passing through if you have some time. It's worth noting there is another trail across the highway from the gift shop I'm told is better than the one we took to the Scenic Ride dropoff, and also taking a mountain bike shuttle from Salida to here (and riding back) is on my list for...