Independence Pass
CO 82 crosses the Continental Divide at 12,095 feet between Twin Lakes and Aspen, on a road too narrow and steep for vehicles 35 feet or longer. Gates stay locked all winter. CDOT names an opening day a few days ahead and unlocks the gates at a set hour, which makes this one of the few passes where you can mark the calendar before the snow clears.
This year
Live plow-season reports load here. For today's conditions, go straight to CDOT's status page.
Conditions change by the hour at 12,095 feet — check CDOT's status page before you drive.
The record
CDOT aims for the Thursday before Memorial Day, and most years it lands within a few days of that.
Will it be open for your trip?
| If your dates start… | The road was already open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| June 1 | 10 of 10 years | 100% |
Odds come from the full record below — past springs, not a promise about this one.
When does Independence Pass close?
CDOT puts the usual closing on or near November 7. The first serious winter storm often makes the call. The winter closure covers CO 82 between milepost 47.2 on the Aspen side and milepost 84.2 near Twin Lakes.
| If you're driving on… | The road was still open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| October 22 | 12 of 12 years | 100% |
| November 1 | 8 of 12 years | 67% |
| November 8 | 5 of 12 years | 42% |
| November 15 | 3 of 12 years | 25% |
| November 22 | 0 of 12 years | 0% |
Closing dates come from the same record as the openings — the year-by-year table below. Past autumns, not a promise about this one: a single storm can end the season a fortnight early.
Every year on record
| Year | Opened | Closed | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | May 21 | — | Gates opened at noon. | codot.gov |
| 2025 | May 22 | November 17 | Gates opened at 4 p.m., nine days earlier than the year before. | codot.gov |
| 2024 | May 31 | October 31 | codot.gov | |
| 2023 | May 25 | October 30 | codot.gov | |
| 2022 | May 26 | November 4 | codot.gov | |
| 2021 | May 27 | October 25 | A winter storm shut the pass at 7 p.m. on October 25; CDOT made the seasonal closure official that Thursday, October 28. | codot.gov |
| 2020 | June 1 | November 13 | codot.gov | |
| 2019 | — | October 28 | CDOT was aiming for 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 31, but never published the day the gates were actually unlocked, so the opening cell stays blank. | codot.gov |
| 2018 | May 24 | November 5 | Gates opened at noon, with about 50 cars waiting at the Pitkin County gate. | codot.gov |
| 2017 | May 25 | November 17 | Gates opened at noon. | codot.gov |
| 2016 | May 26 | November 17 | CDOT named the Thursday a week ahead and opened the gates at noon that day, with about 45 cars lined up. | codot.gov |
| 2015 | — | November 4 | codot.gov | |
| 2014 | — | November 12 | codot.gov |
Record drawn from CDOT: Independence Pass travel information · CDOT: 2025 winter closure, with the past decade of closing dates · CDOT: 2024 winter closure, with the past decade of closing dates · CDOT: 2025 opening, with recent opening dates · CDOT: the 2018 opening, May 24 · CDOT: the 2016 opening, with the gates unlocked at noon · CDOT: the 2016 opening day named a week ahead — Thursday, May 26 · CDOT: the 2019 target, 5:30 p.m. on May 31 · COtrip road conditions. Years with their own link were taken from that record. Last checked September 4, 2026.
Independence Pass: opening and closing questions
- When does Independence Pass close for the winter?
- CDOT puts the usual closing on or near November 7. The first serious winter storm often makes the call. Across the 12 closings on record the gate has gone shut around November 5 — as early as October 25 in 2021, as late as November 17 in 2025. The winter closure covers CO 82 between milepost 47.2 on the Aspen side and milepost 84.2 near Twin Lakes.
- When did Independence Pass close last?
- The most recent closing on the record is November 17, 2025. Gates opened at 4 p.m., nine days earlier than the year before. Every other season we can source is in the table on this page.
- Can you drive Independence Pass in winter?
- No. CO 82 between milepost 47.2 on the Aspen side and milepost 84.2 near Twin Lakes is gated once the season ends, and it stays shut until spring plowing gets through. CDOT posts the gate's current state.
- Is Independence Pass open right now?
- This page is the season record, not the road's condition this morning. Colorado Department of Transportation publishes today's state of the road, and that is the one to check before you drive — conditions turn over in hours at this elevation. For planning: the usual season runs from about May 26 to about November 5.
- When does Independence Pass open again?
- CDOT aims for the Thursday before Memorial Day, and most years it lands within a few days of that. The median of the 10 openings on record is May 26; the earliest was May 21 in 2026 and the latest June 1 in 2020.