CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, CO — An early-morning landslide shut down U.S. Highway 6 over Loveland Pass on Sunday, June 15, forcing an indefinite closure of the high-alpine corridor that many travelers and hazardous-materials carriers rely on.
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) reported the slide at about 5:25 a.m., describing a debris field roughly 100 feet wide and 15-20 feet deep at mile marker 226—one mile below the summit and three miles above the interchange with Interstate 70 near Loveland Ski Area.
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Officials confirmed no vehicles or people were caught in the slide. Both directions of U.S. 6 are closed between Loveland Ski Area and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area; A-Basin remains accessible from the Summit County side, but drivers should consult COtrip.org or the COtrip app for updates.
“The area is still actively moving, so we can’t safely begin cleanup efforts yet,”
CDOT believes rapid snowmelt saturated the hillside, triggering the slope failure. High-elevation landslides are common in Colorado during late spring, when melting snow weakens already steep terrain. The Colorado Geological Survey notes that saturating soil or rock from snowmelt or heavy rain is a primary driver of slope failures statewide.
Records show the same section of hillside partially slid in 2003 but stabilized naturally; it had shown no movement for 22 years until today.
Loveland Pass sits just shy of 12,000 feet on the Continental Divide and serves as the mandatory detour for trucks carrying hazardous cargo that cannot travel through the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels on I-70. During extended Loveland Pass closures, CDOT typically institutes intermittent closures of the tunnels to escort haz-mat loads; no such schedule has yet been announced.
Free: Complete Colorado 14ers Planner
Every peak. Every trailhead. Every detail: in one spreadsheet.
- All 58 peaks ranked beginner to expert
- Safety notes and seasonal windows for each
- Route difficulty, mileage, and prep tips
Traveler & Resident Safety Tips
| Warning Signs of Slope Instability | Safe Actions to Take |
|---|---|
| Fresh cracks or bulges in the ground near roads or trails | Detour to stable ground immediately |
| Tilting trees, fence posts, or power poles | Report observations to local authorities |
| Unusual rumbling sounds or flowing debris | Never attempt to cross an active slide |
More preparedness guidance is available from the U.S. Geological Survey’s landslide safety pages here.
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