[1] Wagon Wheel Gap, on the Silver Thread Scenic and Historic Byway (Colorado State Highway 149),[2] is at 8,468 feet (2,581 m) in altitude.

[3] Miners entered the area to prospect for precious metals, which Utes like Colorow thought that their digging and taking the rocks made the gods angry.

[1][2] Wagon Wheel Gap was the first tollgate for travel between South Fork and Lake City.

[2] There were not many settlers in the area until railroad magnate William Jackson Palmer transported and provided lodging for visitors to the hot springs beginning in 1883.

[3] Today, Wagon Wheel Gap is part of a dude ranch that offers bathing in the hot springs.