8,314 ft / 2,534 m) is a high mountain pass in California in the Sierra Nevada southeast of Lake Tahoe.

Crossing the pass allows for a more direct route between U.S. 395 and Markleeville, California, at the expense of some additional elevation.

Monitor Pass is part of the route taken by Jedediah Smith in late spring of 1827 when leaving California at the end of his first exploratory journey, the first crossing ever of the Sierra Nevada by a non-native.

[2] State Route 89 over Monitor Pass is subject to winter closure due to snow accumulation.

Dates of closure vary depending on the weather, but Monitor Pass is generally closed to vehicular traffic between late November and early April.