Devil's Punchbowl (Independence Pass)
UnverifiedBeginner (0-30 ft)39.11940, -106.70837
Confirmed by 0 jumpers
A deep green pool where the upper Roaring Fork drops through granite on Independence Pass, about nine miles east of Aspen near the Grottos. The main jump is roughly 25 feet into water that averages around 12 feet deep, with smaller ledges below it. The most famous jump in Colorado, and the one that has killed the most people.
Jumps at this location
Lower ledges
10 ft
12 ft water depth
Beginner (0-30 ft)
Main jump
25 ft
12 ft water depth
Beginner (0-30 ft)
Warnings
People die here. Deaths and body recoveries have happened repeatedly — jumpers swept downstream in high water, and falls from the rocks above. In June the Roaring Fork is still running hard and the current below the pool is the real killer, not the jump. Snowmelt at 9,000 feet will cold-shock you on entry. Twelve feet of water under a 25-foot jump leaves no room for a bad angle, so go feet-first and shallow-dive out, or don't go.
Access
Highway 82 east of Aspen, near mile marker 50 by the Grottos day-use area (White River National Forest). Roadside parking fills by mid-morning in summer; no camping at the pool, the nearest is Weller. The pass road is closed by snow from roughly November to late May.
Best conditions
Mid-July through early September, after runoff has dropped out of the river. Midday, when the sun is actually on the water.