Skip to content
Byway
Trail Ridge Road/Beaver Meadow RoadAll lookouts
Lookout · Trail Ridge Road/Beaver Meadow Road

Rock Cut

OpenStreetMap
Looking south-west from Rock Cut. Terrain at true elevation.
Overview · Assembled from verified data

Rock Cut sits at 12,131 feet on Trail Ridge Road/Beaver Meadow Road, with the land dropping 1,204 feet within 600 meters of the overlook. The view faces 235 degrees, oriented toward a line of peaks to the south and southwest: Terra Tomah Mountain, Mount Julian, Cracktop, Mount Ida, and Chief Cheley Peak, followed by Hayden Spire and Sprague Mountain further south. Distances to these summits range from 2.6 to 4.5 miles, with elevations between 12,418 and 12,889 feet. The facing direction is angled 35 degrees off a direct sunset alignment, meaning the view takes in evening light rather than a straight sunset. Sunset times shift through the year, from 16:40 at the December solstice to 20:37 at the June solstice. Fort Collins lies 36.5 miles east-northeast, Boulder 36.7 miles southeast, and Longmont 37.3 miles east-southeast. Lava Cliffs is the previous lookout along the route, and Mushroom Rocks is the next.

Access
On the byway
Elevation
12,131 ft
View
Southwest · 235°
Light
Best at sunset
Relief
1,204 ft drop
In view
7 named features
Photos · Real imagery only
Panorama from Rock Cut in the Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Photographs taken by the uploader, image stitching by Michael Beardsworth, and some adjustments done using Aperture by the uploader.
Alex Weeks · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Part of the Rocky Mountains around Mount Ida. The Gorge Lakes can be seen in the top center of the image and in front of the range
DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Part of the Rocky Mountains around Mount Ida. The Gorge Lakes can be seen in front of the range
DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
A view of the Rocky Mountains as seen from the Forest Canyon Overlook in Rocky Mountains National Park
DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA, 21 September 2016
Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark · CC BY 2.0 · source
Ochotona princeps (Richardson, 1828), American Pika, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA, 21 September 2016
Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark · CC BY 2.0 · source
In view · Named features

What you’re looking at

Named terrain inside the view from this overlook, nearest first.

  • Terra Tomah Mountain12,703 ftsouth-southwest · 2.6 mi
  • Mount Julian12,889 ftsouth-southwest · 3.1 mi
  • Cracktop12,762 ftsouth-southwest · 3.6 mi
  • Mount Ida12,866 ftsouthwest · 3.7 mi
  • Chief Cheley Peak12,740 ftsouthwest · 3.8 mi
  • Hayden Spire12,418 ftsouth · 4.2 mi
  • Sprague Mountain12,695 ftsouth · 4.5 mi
When to look · Sun at this latitude

Light

This overlook faces sunset — 35° off square to it.

DateSunriseSunsetGolden hour
March equinox07:0719:1518:39
June solstice05:3420:3719:56
September equinox06:5119:0218:26
December solstice07:2316:4015:57

Local time (America/Denver). Computed for this exact position.

Getting there · Position and access

Where it is

  • Fort Collins36.5 mi east-northeast
  • Boulder36.7 mi southeast
  • Longmont37.3 mi east-southeast
← Before it: Lava CliffsAfter it: Mushroom Rocks →
Loading map…
Private beta · Free to join

Take the scenic way to Rock Cut.

Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.

Private beta · Free to join · No card · Invite when a spot opens

From the source · Verbatim

Terra Tomah Mountain · WikipediaCC BY-SA

Terra Tomah Mountain is a 12,718-foot-elevation (3,876-meter) mountain summit located in Rocky Mountain National Park, in Larimer County, of Colorado, United States. It is situated 13 miles west of the community of Estes Park, and 1.5 mile east of the Continental Divide. Terra Tomah Mountain is part of the Front Range which is a subset of the Rocky Mountains. Topographic relief is significant as the northeast aspect rises 3,300 feet above Forest Canyon in 1.5 mile. It is a prominent landmark viewed from Forest Canyon Overlook along the Trail Ridge Road.

Read it at Wikipedia →
Common questions

How high is Rock Cut?

Rock Cut sits at about 12,131 feet (3,697 m).

What can you see from Rock Cut?

From Rock Cut: Terra Tomah Mountain (SSW, 2.6 mi); Mount Julian (SSW, 3.1 mi); Cracktop (SSW, 3.6 mi); Mount Ida (SW, 3.7 mi).

Is Rock Cut better at sunrise or sunset?

Sunset. The land falls away from Rock Cut toward the sunset, so at sunrise the light is behind you. Exact times shift through the year; the page shows the current window.

What is the nearest town to Rock Cut?

Fort Collins, 37 miles ENE of Rock Cut.

What is the next lookout after Rock Cut?

Mushroom Rocks is the next surfaced lookout along the same route after Rock Cut.

Drive to Rock Cut with Byway

Byway plans the scenic way there — real places along Trail Ridge Road/Beaver Meadow Road, real weather, zero hallucinations — and hands the turns to the navigation you already use.

Plan a drive to this lookout →Plan this with Byway AI
On these byways · Drive past it

Byways with this lookout

Day trips start here

Community · From people who stood here

Locals make it Verified.

Rock Cut — confirmed, rated, and photographed by people who actually pulled over. A local confirmation is what upgrades a lookout from Discovered to Verified. Zero hallucinations.

Confirmed by locals

No local confirmations yet. Stood here? Yours is the one that upgrades this lookout to Verified.

Ratings

No ratings yet. Stood at this lookout? Be the first to rate it.

No written reviews yet.

Field notes

No field notes yet. Know the gate hours or the best pull-in? Leave the note you wish you'd had.

Photos

No photos yet.

Sign in to confirm this lookout, rate it, add photos, and leave field notes.

Nearby · Same byway

More lookouts on Trail Ridge Road/Beaver Meadow Road

Nearby · Byway Atlas

Named places near this lookout