Grizzly Reservoir and Twin Lakes Tunnel West Portal, Colorado

Two miles south of Independence Pass, another water tunnel sneaks invisibly under the Continental Divide. This is the Twin Lakes Tunnel, which begins on the west side of the Divide at the Grizzly Reservoir and dam. The caretakers live in a remote home next to the reservoir, and drive through the narrow four-mile long tunnel, when it has low water, to get to Leadville. It’s a long way around, otherwise, especially when Independence Pass and the surrounding area is snowed in for the winter.