Over 10000

[pderocco]

I'm always attracted to high roads, which are fairly common here in the western states. The ones I've driven that exceed 10000 feet are:

10030 CA Horseshoe Meadow Rd, Lone Pine (dead end)
10083 CA White Mountain Rd (paved part, dead end)
10200 MT US-212 Beartooth Hwy
10235 CA Rock Creek Rd, Tom's Place (dead end)
10680 CO I-70 Vail Pass
10715 UT UT-150 Bald Mountain Pass
10839 CO CO-65 Grand Mesa
10947 WY US-212 Beartooth Hwy
11500 CO I-70 Eisenhower Tunnel
11796 CO Old Fall River Rd and US-34 intersection
11992 CO US-6 Loveland Pass
12095 CO CO-82 Independence Pass
12183 CO US-34 Trail Ridge, Rocky Mountain NP
14130 CO CO-5 Mount Blue Sky (dead end)

The ones I loved the most were US-212 Beartooth Hwy, US-6 Loveland Pass, US-34 Trail Ridge, and CO-5 Mount Blue Sky, because of the views from the winding roads. So far, I haven't tackled any of the really high dirt roads, but may do that next summer, in Utah and Colorado. I'd be curious what 10000 footers other people have driven and which ones they like the most, especially if they're ones I haven't been on.

[kalvado]

Can you use low octane gas on those?

[74/171FAN]

I have definitely clinched SR 10272 and SR 10076 in Fairfax County, VA.  (I probably have driven more, but I am not into looking through my clinching notes right now.)  I have also clinched the unsigned VA 90003 (Colonial Parkway) and VA 90005 (George Washington Memorial Parkway).  Technically I would have not clinched VA 90004 (Dulles Airport Access Road).

Well they are nowhere near 10,000 feet elevation, and I am unsure if I have done that.  If I did, it would have been on my 2021 Arizona trip.

[kphoger]

Can you use low octane gas on those?

It can be dicey.  The thing is, your gas tank usually isn't empty when you head back down to lower elevation.  I think I've filled up with 85 octane once when I was heading up into the Colorado Rockies.  But, when I stopped in Burlington on my way back into Kansas, there was no way I was going to fill up with 85.

[Max Rockatansky]

I used to have issues with my Sonic knocking at 8,000 feet or above ever with 87 octane.  Given it was the 1.4L turbo the solution was go fill up with 89 beforehand or 91 if I forgot.  87 always seem fine for naturally aspirated non-performance cars I've owned. 

Regarding Rock Creek Road and White Mountain Road I need to still drive both those.  Horseshoe Meadows is surprisingly well designed, but then again it was part of CA 190 until the late 1950s.

[pderocco]

I drive a 23 Subaru Forester Wilderness, and it runs well even over 10000 feet on whatever cheap swill I put into its tank. I even tried some ethanol-free premium a couple of times, and didn't notice any difference in performance or mileage. The strange thing is that I get much better mileage in the inland western states than in the coastal states, even though I'm doing lots of mountain roads in all of them.

I only recall once having a problem at high elevation, and that was back in the 1990s going through the Eisenhower Tunnel in an '89 Cressida that was running on 5 cylinders.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I think all mine are in CO:
Vail Pass (I-70)
Independence Pass (SH 82)
Fremont Pass (SH 91)
Berthoud Pass (US 40)
Loveland Pass (US 6)
Monarch Pass (US 50)
Eisenhower Tunnel (I-70)
Trail Ridge Road (US 34)
Coal Bank/Molas/Red Mountain (US 550)

I liked US 50 and US 550 the most of these.

[pderocco]

Anyone here done Black Bear or Imogene Pass? I'm thinking of doing them both next summer. Any advice would be appreciated. Also, Skyline Drive in Utah looks beautiful, although I've never driven a 100-mile dirt road before.

[Max Rockatansky]

I did Black Bear Pass a very long time ago when I was 25.  I was probably in over my head but the recommendation at the time was to have a low range 4WD vehicle for The Steps.  The Switchbacks were pretty difficult considering my 1997 1500 Chevy Truck was an extended cab.  Basically I had to back up a couple times when I screwed up my turning radius.  If I could do it again (I don't have a vehicle capable at moment) I would be a less lengthy vehicle and would try to go with a group that had at least one winch.

[oscar]

Hawaii has a few roads with maximum elevations over 10000:

13780  mostly unpaved access road to observatories on Big Island's Mauna Kea summit
11135  paved access road to weather observatory on side of Big Island's Mauna Loa

There is also a paved access road to the summit of Maui's Haleakala. The summit is at 10023', but I'm not sure the public road goes over 10000' (observatories, closed to the general public, occupy the immediate summit area).

I've traveled all three roads.

In addition to the Colorado roads in TheHighwayMan3561's and pderocco's lists, I've driven Colorado state route 145 over Lizard Head Pass (elevation 10222').

There might be more in Colorado -- in that state, it seems that merely crossing the 10000' mark doesn't always rate a sign.

[pderocco]

Hawaii has a few roads with maximum elevations over 10000:

There is also a paved access road to the summit of Maui's Haleakala. The summit is at 10023', but I'm not sure the public road goes over 10000' (observatories, closed to the general public, occupy the immediate summit area).

I went up there back in the 1980s. It looks like the Red Hill lot is a couple feet below 10K, but the walkway to the west goes above that. So count it if you like.

In addition to the Colorado roads in TheHighwayMan3561's and pderocco's lists, I've driven Colorado state route 145 over Lizard Head Pass (elevation 10222').

I forgot about that. I drove that back in the 1990s, but at night, so I really should do it again.

[ClassicHasClass]

We recently drove the Civic Si up to Patriarch Grove in the White Mountains, officially 11,336'. That drive was harrowing as hell in a low-clearance passenger vehicle (a bumpy though surprisingly well-signed dirt road with variable conditions and some single-lane parts) and we would not do it again in such a car, but it would be great with 4WD. That's our highest driving elevation to date (91 octane).

I also enjoyed US 6 over Loveland Pass, though.

[Max Rockatansky]

Sometimes it is more memorable getting a car through something you ought to have high clearance for.  I'm also finding a lot of the rural dirt roads in California are often in far better shape than nearby asphalt corridors.

[pderocco]

Sometimes it is more memorable getting a car through something you ought to have high clearance for.

What's even more memorable is not getting a car through something you should have had high clearance for. I've needed a couple tows over the years, fortunately only back when I was young and dumb.

[pderocco]

We recently drove the Civic Si up to Patriarch Grove in the White Mountains, officially 11,336'. That drive was harrowing as hell in a low-clearance passenger vehicle (a bumpy though surprisingly well-signed dirt road with variable conditions and some single-lane parts) and we would not do it again in such a car, but it would be great with 4WD. That's our highest driving elevation to date (91 octane).

About a mile past the Patriarch Grove turnoff, White Mountain Rd crests at nearly 11880 feet (according to USGS quad), which is higher than the locked gate at the end. That's the highest you can drive in California without permission from the University of California. There's a nice Street View at that one point:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/iM67dj2DaMtnQeU78

In fact, if it hasn't snowed yet, maybe I should try going there next weekend.

[kphoger]

Anyone here done Black Bear or Imogene Pass? I'm thinking of doing them both next summer. Any advice would be appreciated. Also, Skyline Drive in Utah looks beautiful, although I've never driven a 100-mile dirt road before.

I've driven Imogene Pass in a rented Jeep Wrangler, back in the early 2000s, with no prior experience driving a 4WD vehicle.  (I think it might have been from this place, although it looks like things are way more strict now than they were back then.)

We did a loop from Ouray, across Ophir Pass, up to Telluride, across Imogene Pass, and back to Ouray.  This was July, and it snowed on us at the top of Ophir Pass.

On Tomboy Road heading east from Telluride, you'd better be comfortable with two-way traffic and a sheer drop-off on one side, or else you'd better get used to it fast because it starts shortly after leaving town.

At Tomboy Mine, it's not totally clear which way to go, but I think all the 'wrong way' roads are just short little dead-ends, so it's no big deal.

The final ascent up to the pass is quite steep;  I think I used first or second gear even in 4WD.

Definitely have a map with you, because there are some other spots where it's difficult to know which way to turn, notably here and here.

[JayhawkCO]

My list over 10,000:

Colorado
CO5 (Mount Blue Sky) - 14,140
Pikes Peak Highway - 14,115
Argentine Pass Road - 13,207
US34 (Trail Ridge Road) - 12,183
Chaffee CR306/Gunnison CR209 (Cottonwood Pass) - 12,126
CO82 (Independence Pass) - 12,095
US6 (Loveland Pass) - 11,992
US34 (Iceberg Pass) - 11,827
Fall River Road (Fall River Pass) - 11,796
Guanella Pass Road (Guanella Pass) - 11,669
CO9 (Hoosier Pass) - 11,541
CO149 (Slumgullion Summit) - 11,530
Old US50 (Old Monarch Pass) - 11,375
CO91 (Fremont Pass) - 11,318
US40 (Berthoud Pass) - 11,315
US50 (Monarch Pass) - 11,312
I-70 (Eisenhowel Tunnel) - 11,158
CO103 (Juniper Pass) - 11,020
US550 (Red Mountain Pass) - 11,018
US550 (Molas Pass) - 10,910
CO149 (Spring Creek Pass) - 10,901
US160 (Wolf Creek Pass) - 10,857
CO65 (Grand Mesa Summit) - 10,839
US34 (Milner Pass) - 10,759
I-70 (Vail Pass) - 10,666
US550 (Coal Bank Pass) - 10,640
US24 (Tennessee Pass) - 10,424
CO14 (Cameron Pass) - 10,276
CO17 (La Manga Pass) - 10,230
CO145 (Lizard Head Pass) - 10,222
CO67 (Tenderfoot Pass) - 10,200
CO114 (North Pass) 10,149
US285 (Red Hill Pass) - 10,051
CO17 (Cumbres Pass) - 10,022
US285 (Kenosha Pass) - 10,001

Montana
US212 (Beartooth Highway) - 10,200

New Mexico
US64 (Brazos Summit) - 10,528

Wyoming
US212 (Beartooth Highway) - 10,947

Highest points (> 10,000 feet) reached by road in other countries:

Bolivia
Camino Hijo Cajon-Laguna Colorada - 15,554

Chile
B-243 (Portezuelo del Cajon) - 14,698

India
Chang La Pass - 17,688

Peru
1S (Paso Patapampa) - 16,175

I also technically walked on a road on Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the Shira Access Road, at 11,158 feet, but I didn't drive to get there. The highest we drove was 7,546 feet.