Fandango Pass, Mountain pass in Modoc County, California, US

Fandango Pass is a gap in the Warner Mountains of Modoc County, California, within Modoc National Forest, at 6,135 feet (1,870 m) above sea level. It lies about 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Fort Bidwell. The pass is crossed by a 10-mile (16 km) graded gravel road, 1.5 lanes wide, closed during winter storms.

Fandango Pass was a convergence of the Applegate Trail, established in 1846 by the Applegate brothers and Levi Scott, and the Lassen Horn Trail, set by Peter Lassen two years later. Though heavily traversed from 1848 until 1853, its importance declined after 1869 with the opening of the Cedar Pass wagon road. It became California Historical Landmark No. 546 on July 15, 1956.

The name Fandango replaced Lassen Pass in the 1870s. One account holds that Wolverine Rangers camped in the valley, found it so cold they burned their wagons for heat and danced a fandango, naming the camp Fandango Valley; later pioneers who saw the burned wagons assumed an Indian massacre had occurred. A 1949 map still labeled the pass Lassen Horn.

The pass is crossed by a 10 mi (16 km) graded gravel road, 1.5 lanes wide, climbing about 1,600 ft (490 m) in roughly 2 mi (3.2 km) from Surprise Valley. The road is closed during winter storms. The California Historical Landmark No. 546 plaque stands 10.8 mi (17.4 km) east of Highway 395 on Fandango Pass Road (County Road 9).

Remnants of the original emigrant trail remain visible on the eastern approach, showing the exact path pioneers took through this terrain. These physical traces make the historical route tangible and reveal how early travelers actually moved across the landscape.