Range, and thus the Continental Divide, turns from running generally south to more southwesterly. North of the pass slopes rise to an unnamed peak a half-mile (1 km) away; a ridge of about the same length connects it to the nearest named summit, Twining Peak. To the south the ridge rises more gently around Mountain Boy Gulch to an unnamed summit 2 miles (3.2 km) distant. The first named summit in this direction is Grizzly Peak, Colorado's highest thirteener. The terrain is level enough, and the ridge broad enough, to allow for a 500-foot (150 m) parking lot along the south side of Highway 82 at the height of land. The pass is split evenly between Pitkin and Lake counties, as well as White River and San Isabel national forests. Boundaries of the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness and the Mount Massive Wilderness are near the pass on the south and north respectively. The Hunter–Fryingpan Wilderness is also nearby. West of the parking area is a small maintenance shed; on the east are toilet facilities. Both are maintained by the U.S. Forest Service. A paved walkway system extends to a pair of overlooks 500 feet (150 m) to the south allowing views in that direction over the Lake Creek valley to Mount Elbert, at the highest peak both in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains, and La Plata Peak, another fourteener and the state's fifth-highest peak. A wide dirt path continues southward three miles (4.8 km) along the ridge to an unnamed summit. Across the road a use path leads to the summits of the unnamed peak and Twining. The pass comes roughly in the middle of a stretch of Highway 82 between the two winter gates, a corridor that is sometimes referred to in its entirety as Independence Pass. Aspen is to the west, with Twin Lakes to the east. Beyond Aspen the highway continues down the valley to the mouth of the Roaring Fork at Glenwood Springs. East of Twin Lakes Highway 82 continues a short distance to its eastern terminus at U.S. Highway 24, south of Leadville. On both approaches, the dropoff is steep enough for Highway 82 to require a 6% grade and switchbacks: one on the west and three on the east. The former approach uses the narrow valley of the Roaring Fork River, a tributary of the Colorado, which rises from Independence Lake west of the pass.