 Rocky Mountain National Park trail crews dig out the Alpine Visitor Center May 23 2023/ photo ourtesy Rocky Mountain National Park RMNP UPDATE - May 25, 2023 Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park will opened Friday, May 26, at 6 a.m. for the season. Due to melting snow on the road and the potential for freezing temperatures visitors should be prepared for icy conditions. At this time, nightly closures will not be implemented. However, because weather conditions may change rapidly at higher elevations, park visitors should be prepared to adjust travel plans accordingly at any time and are encouraged to call the park’s Trail Ridge Road recorded status phone line at (970) 586-1222. Park staff will update the recorded line when/if the road status changes. Alpine Visitor Center will open on Saturday, May 27. Trail Ridge Store will have limited services this weekend. Timed Entry Permit Reservations Effective Friday, May 26 Rocky Mountain National Park is implementing a pilot timed entry permit reservation system which will begin tomorrow, May 26. Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the busiest national parks in the country, with over 4.3 million visitors in 2022. Visitor crowding and congestion have led to increased negative impacts to visitor and staff safety, resource protection, visitor experience and operational capacity. The park has piloted various visitor use management strategies since 2016, including first-come, first-served as well as different parkwide Timed Entry Permit Reservation system pilots since 2020. In 2023, there are two types of reservations available. One permit is for the Bear Lake Road Corridor, which includes the entire corridor and access to the rest of the park. This reservation period is from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. The second permit is for the rest of Rocky Mountain National Park, excluding the Bear Lake Road corridor, and includes Trail Ridge Road. This reservation period is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Permits issued using the reservation system will allow park visitors to enter the park within two-hour windows of availability. The reservation system will apply to all areas of the park. To learn more visit https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/timed-entry-permit-system.htm Trail Ridge Road historically opens on Memorial Day weekend; last year the road opened on May 27. The earliest the road has opened was on May 7, 2002; the latest June 26, 1943. Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States, climbs to 12,183 feet and connects the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake. Trail Ridge Road officially closed for the season last year on October 24. National Park Service plow operators began clearing the snow in the middle of April. Crews from the west side of the park and crews from the east side of the park move along the road and eventually meet at the Alpine Visitor Center. The visitor center is the highest in the National Park Service, sitting at 11,796 feet above sea level. Spring storms often impact plowing activities. This year, crews ran into average snowpack. For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park visit www.nps.gov/romo or call the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206. For a recorded status line on Trail Ridge Road please call (970) 586-1222.  Trail Ridge Road at Rock Cut_5.24.2023/ photo courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park
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 NPS Photo; Sprague Lake Boardwalk Replacement Project, May 18, 2023 he Sprague Lake Trail, Picnic and Parking Area will be closed to all users on Thursday, May 18. This closure will be in place for the safe staging of building materials and equipment that will be used to replace and repair a 210-foot-long section of the Sprague Lake Boardwalk.
Located along Bear Lake Road, Sprague Lake is a popular destination for many park visitors. There is a 0.7-mile loop trail around the lake, as well as an accessible backcountry campsite, picnic area, and vault toilets near the parking area. Sprague Lake offers spectacular scenic views of the lake itself and the Continental Divide. The Sprague Lake Boardwalk was first constructed in 2000 and is due for repairs. During the Sprague Lake Boardwalk Replacement Project, the park’s trail crew, assisted by a Rocky Mountain Conservancy Conservation Corps trail crew, will replace failing wooden boards, as well as widen a section of the boardwalk. Crews will also repair the substructure by replacing with steel beams to extend the total life of the bridge. These improvements will improve accessibility for visitors who use wheelchairs and strollers. The project will also improve two scenic overlooks. Once complete, the new Sprague Lake Boardwalk will look very similar to the Lily Lake Boardwalk. While the staging of equipment and building materials will happen on May 18, the majority of the boardwalk replacement work will take place beginning in August 2023. This will help minimize impacts to wetlands areas, as the water in the impacted area will be lower and the ground in the wetlands dryer. Once project work begins, there will be a full closure in place for a small portion of the Sprague Lake Trail. The majority of the Sprague Lake Trail will remain open to park visitors. This trail project is scheduled to be completed in late fall 2023. For more information on Rocky Mountain National Park, please call the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/romo  Kevin Sypher RMNP UPDATE - May 5, 2023 On Monday, May 1, park rangers were notified of a missing man in the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park. Kevin Sypher, 56, was last seen on Sunday afternoon, April 30, in the Sandbeach Lake parking area near the Wild Basin Entrance Station.
Mr. Sypher was first reported missing from Parker, Colorado on Thursday, April 27 by Parker Police. He was located on Saturday, April 29 in the Denver area and reunited with family. On Sunday, April 30, he was with a family member near the Wild Basin Entrance in Rocky Mountain National Park when he is reported to have willingly walked away from a vehicle he was traveling in. On Monday, May 1, Rocky Mountain National Park was notified that Sypher was missing when a park ranger encountered a group of people searching for an individual. Park rangers started an investigation and began initial search efforts. From the initial investigation on May 1, park rangers learned that a man matching Sypher’s description was seen by park staff the afternoon of Sunday, April 30, travelling on foot near Copeland Lake walking west on the Wild Basin Road. Due to this information, search efforts continued along the Wild Basin Road and river corridor and up the summer trailhead. On May 3, Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue team members were assisted by a dog team from Front Range Rescue Dogs and search efforts were concentrated around the summer trailhead and up to Copeland Falls. During search efforts, a park visitor who regularly hikes in this area mentioned seeing a man matching Kevin’s description near the Wild Basin summer Trailhead on Monday, May 1. Kevin Sypher is 6’2,” 180 pounds with gray hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue baseball cap, blue jeans and cowboy boots. Active search efforts have been suspended. Patrols will continue to occur in the search area, and further actions may be considered if there are any further clues or information provided. The incident is under investigation and no further information on the investigation will be released at this time. If you have information that could help investigators, if you may have seen Kevin Sypher, or if you were in the Wild Basin area since April 30, please contact us. You don't have to tell us who you are, but please tell us what you know. CALL or TEXT the National Park Service Investigative Services Bureau Tip Line 888-653-0009, ONLINE form go.nps.gov/SubmitATip or EMAIL nps_isb@nps.gov |
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