The Alpine tun­nel was a part of the nar­row gauge rail sys­tem between Den­ver and Gun­ni­son Col­orado. Con­struc­tion on the tun­nel began in 1880 and started ser­vice in 1882. The tun­nel was then aban­doned in 1910 due to tun­nel cave-ins. This was the first tun­nel to be con­structed through the Con­ti­nen­tal Divide. The tun­nel sits at an ele­va­tion of 11,523 feet and has a length of 772 feet. At one time this was the high­est tun­nel n the world.

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You can get to the Alpine Tun­nel from the small town of Pitkin Col­orado. The trip from Pitkin is about 10 miles. The road to the tun­nel is in good con­di­tion, but a lit­tle rocky and rough in places. It can be dri­ven by most 2 wheel drive vehi­cles, but I do rec­om­mend an SUV or pickup. From the Pitkin Gen­eral Store and Gas Sta­tion head East on For­est Ser­vice road 765. A cou­ple of miles down the road you’ll make a right on For­est Ser­vice road 968 (You’ll see the sign Alpine Tun­nel). From here you’re actu­ally dri­ving on the old rail­road track bed that leads to the tun­nel. On the first three quar­ters of the trip along the way you’ll see a water tower and a lit­tle fur­ther down the road you’ll see a small sec­tion of the nar­row gauge rail­road. If you are afraid of heights or don’t want to drive on the cliffs road this might be a good place to turn around. How­ever, the last 3 miles are the most spec­tac­u­lar with mag­nif­i­cent vis­tas and sheer drop-offs along the road. Along the way you come to the Pal­isades — a man-made retain­ing wall hold­ing up the road that is still there from the 1880s. The wall is about 30 feet high and about 425 feet long. Con­tinue on to the end of the road and take a short walk to the Alpine tun­nel sta­tion. At the restored sta­tion there is also a small sec­tion of track that has been rein­stalled. Take short hike past the sta­tion and you will reach the entrance of the tun­nel. Unfor­tu­nately, the tun­nel has been sealed off for safety rea­sons, but it is still well worth the trip.

I am always amazed trav­el­ing the back roads of Col­orado find­ing new, amaz­ing pho­to­graphic oppor­tu­ni­ties in small towns and new dis­cov­er­ies like the Alpine Tun­nel. So get out there and visit the Alpine Tun­nel. You won’t be disappointed.

Books and Map List

4WD Adven­tures: Col­orado [Paperback]

The Col­orado Guide (5th Edi­tion) [Paperback]

 Gun­ni­son National For­est Recre­ation Guide (National For­est Series) [Paperback]

Gun­ni­son Basin Pub­lic Lands (America’s Great Out­doors) [Folded Map]