Tennessee Pass, Rail mountain pass in Lake County, Colorado

Tennessee Pass, at 10,424 ft (3,177 m), crosses the Continental Divide north of Leadville in a gap between the Sawatch Range to the west and the Mosquito Range to the east. It links the headwaters of the Arkansas River with the upper Eagle River valley. U.S. Highway 24 crosses the nearly level summit, and most of the area lies above the tree line.

The Denver & Rio Grande Western built a narrow gauge line over Tennessee Pass in 1881 as a branch to reach mines near Red Cliff; by the mid-1880s it formed part of the extension toward Aspen, built to beat the Colorado Midland to that mining area. In 1890 a standard gauge line from Pueblo to Grand Junction was completed, with a tunnel about 200 ft below the summit. The last revenue train crossed on August 23, 1997.

The summit area holds a memorial honoring the 10th Mountain Division, which prepared here for alpine combat during World War II. This military legacy remains part of how locals and visitors understand the place today.

The pass is accessible year-round via U.S. Route 24, though winter storms occasionally cause temporary closures for safety reasons. Visitors should prepare for changing weather conditions at high elevation and check local road conditions before traveling.

The summit of Tennessee Pass is the site of Ski Cooper, a ski area in San Isabel National Forest operated under a permit from the United States Forest Service. Before that, the area served as a World War II training ground for the 10th Mountain Division from nearby Camp Hale, and a memorial to the division stands at the summit.