Guanella Pass and Geneva Creek - Photos and Video

Now that Guanella Pass is paved the whole way, it's a nice smooth, beautiful drive the whole way. At one of the pull-off spots, you'll find this mesmerizing portion of Geneva Creek right off the road.


Old CDOT Brochure on Guanella Pass: www.codot.gov/travel/scenic-byways/north...GuanellaPassBrochure

From Wikipedia: "Geneva Creek is a short tributary of the North Fork South Platte River, approximately 14.7 miles (23.7 km) long, in central Colorado in the United States. It drains part of the Rocky Mountains southwest of Denver in northern Park County. It rises at the continental divide west of Mount Bierstadt and descends through a canyon to the southeast. It joins the North Fork South Platte from the north at Grant along U.S. Highway 285. The valley of the river provides the route of the Guanella Pass Scenic Byway between Georgetown and Grant.

The upper part of Geneva Creek is an iron fen, where iron oxide is deposited by mineral-rich groundwater coming to the surface. The area is within the Colorado Mineral Belt, and gold and silver deposits were mined nearby at the now-deserted town of Geneva. Natural springs add high dissolved concentrations of copper and zinc to the stream."

Geneva Creek Iron Fen - www.co.clear-creek.co.us/index.aspx?NID=257
Iron fens area a phenomenon unique to Colorado. There are eight iron fens documented in Colorado, and no other known occurrences in the world.

Here's some of what you can see if you take a drive up Guanella Pass!













For some perspective on how big those boulders really are...