| Homestake Pass | |
|---|---|
Marker placed along the former Northern Pacific Railway’s crossing of Homestake Pass. |
|
| Elevation | 1,929 m (6,329 ft) |
| Traversed by | Interstate 90 and BNSF Railway (inactive). |
| Location | |
| Location | Jefferson / Silver Bow counties, Montana, United States |
| Range | Rocky Mountains |
Homestake Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of Montana in the United States. It sits on the Continental Divide of the Americas on the border between Jefferson County, Montana and Silver Bow County, Montana, six miles south-southeast of Butte, Montana in Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest at a height of 6,329 feet (1,929 m). The pass was discovered by Edwin Harrison McHenry, a civil engineer working for the Northern Pacific. McHenry was tasked with locating a line from the NP's main line near Logan, Montana, through to Butte.
The Northern Pacific Railway used the pass for its line from Logan, Montana to Garrison, Montana via Butte (Rocky Mountain Division, Second and Fourth Subdivisions) built in 1889. The line over the pass is currently owned by BNSF Railway. It has been inactive since 1983. This was Northern Pacific's scenic transcontinental passenger train route used by the famous North Coast Limited. When Interstate 90 was built the state of Montana used Homestake Pass to cross the continental divide bypassing the US Route 10 route over the divide at Pipestone Pass.
A trail running race currently takes place on the Continental Divide Trail between Homestake Pass and Pipestone Pass. Hosted by Butte's Piss and Moan Running Club, the Wulfman CDT 14k is held annually on the Saturday closest to the Summer solstice.