The small spa of Maruia Springs is close to the saddle, on the West Coast side.

Lewis Pass is named after Henry Lewis who, together with Christopher Maling, was the first European to discover the pass, in April 1860 while working as a surveyor of the Nelson Provincial Survey Department.

[1][2] Before this time the pass was used by the Ngāi Tahu Māori of Canterbury to transport pounamu (greenstone) from the west coast.

It had a regular bus route over it until Intercity's service was replaced by a seasonal shuttle.

[8] There are a number of tramping routes in the Lewis Pass area, including the St James Walkway.