Trail Ridge Road opens for the season, timed-entry reservations are required starting today5/27/2022 RMNP Update - May 27, 2022  Trail Ridge Road on May 27, 2022; NPS/ROMO photo This afternoon, Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park opened 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, night-time closures will not be implemented. However, because weather conditions may change rapidly, and winter weather is forecast for higher elevations this holiday weekend, including freezing temperatures and some snow accumulation, park visitors should be prepared to adjust travel plans accordingly 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 is tentatively scheduled to open Saturday, May 28. Trail Ridge Store will likely be opening later in the week. Timed Entry Permit Reservations Effective Today, May 27 Rocky Mountain National Park is implementing a pilot timed entry permit reservation system which began today, May 27. Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the busiest national parks in the country, with over 4.4 million visitors in 2021. 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 park wide Timed Entry Permit Reservation systems in 2020, 2021 and again in 2022. 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 3 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 28. 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 25. 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 to below average snowpack and a heavy spring snowstorm in late May. 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.
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 Alpine Visitor Center, located at 11,796 feet along Trail Ridge Road, is the highest visitor center in the National Park Service. NPS/ROMO photo RMNP UPDATE - May 26, 2022 Mother Nature has provided some beautiful wet spring snow for Rocky Mountain National Park snowplow operators to contend with the last week at high elevations along Trail Ridge Road. We are grateful for the much needed snowpack and moisture! On schedule last week to open the road for the Memorial Day weekend, park snowplow operators are now plowing 2 to 5 foot drifts from Rock Cut to the Alpine Visitor Center located at 11,796 feet. Stay tuned for when Trail Ridge Road will open for the season - recorded Trail Ridge Road status line (970) 586-1222.  Road Crew Plowing Trail Ridge Road Above Milner Pass_May 25 2022 NPS/ROMO photo  Rocky Mountain National Park snowplow operators plow sections along Trail Ridge Road encountering 2 to 5 foot drifts in upper elevations. NPS/ROMO photo  Photo of Adams Falls by Dave Rusk RMNP UPDATE
Thursday afternoon, May 19, a 21-year-old female from Virginia, Illinois, died after falling into Adams Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park. Her body was recovered last evening. Adams Falls is located on the East Inlet Trail on the west side of the park. Grand County Sheriff’s Office, Grand County EMS, Grand County Search and Rescue, and Grand Lake Fire assisted the park. Her body was transferred to the Grand County Coroner. The woman’s name will be released after next of kin are notified. Park visitors are reminded to remain back from the banks of streams, rivers and waterfalls, especially during spring runoff. Rocks at streamside are often slippery. Water is extremely cold and can be deceivingly deep and swift. Always provide proper supervision for children, who by nature, tend to be attracted to water. Powerful currents can quickly pull a person underwater. RMNP UPDATE - May 19. 2022
Due to an incoming forecasted major winter snowstorm, Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park is currently closed on the east side at Many Parks Curve and on the west side at the Colorado River Trailhead. Previously, the closures were at higher elevations along the road at Rainbow Curve on the east side and Milner Pass on the west side. Trail Ridge Road has not yet opened as a through road for the season. Wild Basin Road has also closed at the Sandbeach Lake Trailhead. Rocky Mountain National Park Announces Hiker Shuttle Will Operate May 27 Through October 104/29/2022 RMNP UPDATE - April 29, 2022 Rocky Mountain National Park will be operating the Hiker Shuttle from May 27 through October 10, from the Estes Park Visitor Center to the Park & Ride Transit Hub located on Bear Lake Road. There are no other stops in the park. At the Park & Ride, riders will transfer to the Bear Lake or Moraine Park shuttles to get to their trailhead destinations.
As part of the park’s overall pilot timed entry system, two things will be needed to ride the Hiker Shuttle: reservation tickets for all passengers plus a valid park entrance pass. One person may reserve up to 4 tickets per $2 reservation. At 5 p.m. the night before, a limited number of tickets will be available for seven specific time slots at RMNP Hiker Shuttle Reservations For example, if you want to reserve a spot on the Hiker Shuttle for May 27, tickets will be available on May 26 at 5 pm. Space is limited, please only reserve the number of seats needed. Park entrance passes are also required. Riders can use an existing annual or lifetime pass, such as a senior pass, or purchase a day pass on recreation.gov. Private vehicle access is not permitted with a Hiker Shuttle ticket. The Hiker Shuttle will depart from the Estes Park Visitor Center to the Bear Lake Road Park & Ride at 9 am, 9:45 am, 10:30 am, 11:15 am, noon, 12:45 pm, 1:30 pm, and 2:15 pm, May 27 through October 10. Passengers are required to depart from the Estes Park Visitor Center using the specific time slot reserved. The Hiker Shuttle will return from the Park & Ride to the Estes Park Visitor Center roughly every 45 minutes beginning at 9:45 am through 5:15 pm. Passengers can return using any Hiker Shuttle throughout the day. The last shuttle will depart from the Bear Lake Road Park & Ride at 5:15 pm. There are no other buses back to the Estes Park Visitor Center after this time. For further details on the Hiker Shuttle and the Bear Lake and Moraine Park routes please visit RMNP Shuttle Buses The Hiker Shuttle route has been in place since 2006, however it was not operational in 2020 and 2021. In 2019, there were over 45,000 park visitors who utilized the Hiker Shuttle. Park visitors can park at the Estes Park Visitor Center parking garage or utilize the existing town of Estes Park transit system to ride from their lodging or other locations to the Estes Park Visitor Center. Since 2017, wait times for the Hiker Shuttle from the Estes Park Visitor Center were often between one to two hours. Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the busiest national parks; third in the country in 2019 with over 4.6 million visitors. This represents a 42 percent increase in visitation in seven years. Visitor crowding and congestion at the park 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 over the last six years, including managing vehicle access to first-come, first serve (2016-2019) in highly congested areas. These first-come, first-serve restrictions had some limited success initially, but over time began to lose effectiveness; the length of time they were necessary kept expanding and impacts were pushed elsewhere. The park piloted park wide timed entry permit reservation systems (2020-2021) and will be piloting a similar system again in 2022. Park staff are learning from these various strategies since 2016, including piloting timed entry reservations on the Hiker Shuttle, to help inform long-range day use visitor access strategies. For more detailed information on how to book a private vehicle timed entry and details about the times of day they are required as well as Frequently Asked Questions, please visit https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/timed-entry-permit-system.htm For further information about Rocky Mountain National Park please visit www.nps.gov/romo, follow the park on social media @RockyNPS or call the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206. RMNP UPDATE - April 27, 2022 Beginning, May 27, Rocky Mountain National Park will increase the one-day vehicle pass from $25 to $30. The fee increase is necessary for Rocky Mountain National Park to improve and maintain high-quality visitor services. While basic park operations are funded by direct appropriations from Congress, the recreation use fees collected by the park are used to support new projects and the ongoing maintenance of park facilities that directly enhance the visitor experience.
Rocky Mountain National Park is one of a few national parks that has a one-day vehicle entrance pass. This day pass was implemented in October 2015. All other park entrance fees including the RMNP seven-day pass ($35 per week), the RMNP annual pass ($70 per year) and any of the interagency America the Beautiful passes will remain the same. Winter campground fees will increase from $20 to $30 per night beginning on October 12, 2022. Summer campground fees will increase from $30 to $35 per night beginning the summer of 2023. In addition, group site campground fees will raise $10 for each tier in group size to $50/$60/$70. Increased campground fees will address cost increases related to trash removal, vault toilet and custodial servicing, general site maintenance and snowplow operations in the winter. The Longs Peak Campground, open summers for tents only, will remain $30 per night because there are no flushable toilets and campers need to bring their own drinkable water. In the fall of 2021, Rocky Mountain National Park staff solicited public input on the proposed fee increases. During the public comment period, the park received 264 formal comments that were related to the park’s proposed fee changes. Most commenters expressed support for the proposed changes to the one-day vehicle entrance pass and front-country campground overnight fees, often highlighting the importance of funding for park maintenance, operation, and resource protection. Commenters who opposed fee increases often cited socioeconomic concerns and affordability for all visitors. Park staff are committed to keeping Rocky Mountain National Park affordable and providing all visitors with the best possible experience. This fee increase is still an incredible value when considering other comparable family and recreational experiences. These campground fee increases are based on comparable fees for similar services in nearby campgrounds. In addition, 80 percent of those funds stay right here in Rocky to benefit visitors. The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) is the legislation under which the park currently collects entrance and amenity fees. This law allows parks to retain 80 percent of the fees collected for use on projects that directly benefit visitors. The remaining 20 percent is distributed throughout the National Park System. Some of the projects funded through the collection of entrance station and campground fees at Rocky Mountain National Park include:
In 2020, 3.3 million park visitors spent an estimated $224 million in local gateway regions while visiting Rocky Mountain National Park, despite the global Covid pandemic, historic wildfires, and the park’s first piloted timed entry permit reservation system. These expenditures supported a total of 3,190 jobs, $121 million in labor income, $208 million in value added, and $342 million in economic output in local gateway economies surrounding Rocky Mountain National Park. 2021 visitor spending data, tied to visitation of 4.4 million park visitors, will be available later this year. RMNP UPDATE - April 14, 2022
On April 9, 2022, Rocky Mountain National Park Rangers were notified of an elk skull with only one attached antler matching the one missing from the carcass of the popular large bull elk, referred to as Kahuna. During the investigation, it was learned that the skull had been relocated after being cut from the carcass. At this time, no further information will be provided regarding the ongoing investigation. Rocky Mountain National Park Rangers want to thank the media, social media platforms as well as members of the local community in helping discover the whereabouts of this skull and antler. In March, park visitors and area photographers highlighted on social media the passing of a popular large bull elk in Rocky Mountain National Park, referred to as Kahuna, Bruno or Big Thirds. He was a majestic elk with distinct large antlers and was widely photographed during his lifetime. Numerous images were also shared of Kahuna’s carcass. It is believed that Kahuna died of natural causes, as there were reports he was injured during last year’s mating season and was very underweight in February. Likely sometime between March 20 and March 22, someone cut and illegally removed the skull and remaining antler from the carcass. It is believed his other antler had been shed before his death. Park rangers urge anyone with information on this illegal incident, including information on the remaining shed antler, to call 1-888-653-0009 or please visit NPS Anonymous Tip Information. This link will provide several ways to report what you know anonymously. If you have information that could help investigators, please contact us. You do not have to tell us who you are, but please tell us what you know. Rocky Mountain National Park’s wildlife is a resource for all to enjoy and protect. Collection of antlers or removing wildlife or their parts is illegal within Rocky Mountain National Park. People can receive criminal charges and be mandated to appear in federal court. Please help the park protect wildlife by reporting any suspicious activity.  Earth Day Activities RMNP/ Photo Courtesy Rocky Mountain National Park RMNP UPDATE - April 12, 2022 Come celebrate National Park Week, Earth Day, and National Junior Ranger Day at Rocky Mountain National Park. National Park Week kicks off with a fee free day on Saturday, April 16. Park entrance fees will be waived on Saturday, April 16. Camping and all other administrative fees will still be in effect. Our National Park Week celebration continues through Sunday, April 24, 2022. Throughout the week, park staff will be inviting you to discover something new about Rocky Mountain National Park both online and through in-park activities on both the east and west sides of the park. Rocky’s National Park Week activities include: On Saturday, April 16 our National Park Week celebration begins with informational booths and interactive Junior Ranger discovery activities. Join NPS staff on the east side of Rocky at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center from 10 am to 3 pm. Activities include:
We will also be celebrating on the west side of the park at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center from 11 am to 1 pm. Activities include:
On Saturday, April 23 join us in person to celebrate Earth Day and National Junior Ranger Day. There will be activities held on both the east and west sides of the park. Join NPS staff and volunteers at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center from 10 am to 3 pm. Activities include:
Can’t join us in person? Please celebrate with us online. Every day of National Park Week, NPS staff, volunteers and partners will be sharing engaging stories via social media. Please visit our website, download the park App, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @RockyNPS. Every day will be a day to discover and share something new. 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.  Bluebirds Moraine Park/ Photo Courtesy A. Schonlau via Rocky Mountain National Park  Kahuna Photo is owned by Dawn Wilson Photography. The NPS has been granted its limited use in print and digital media solely for this article. All image credits and rights belong to Dawn Wilson Photography. April 8, 2022 - RMNP UPDATE Recently, park visitors and area photographers highlighted on social media the passing of a popular large bull elk in Rocky Mountain National Park, referred to as Kahuna, Bruno or Big Thirds. He was a majestic elk with distinct large antlers and was widely photographed during his lifetime. Numerous images were also shared of Kahuna’s carcass. It is believed that Kahuna died of natural causes, as there were reports he was injured during last year’s mating season and was very underweight in February.
Park rangers at Rocky Mountain National Park are investigating the illegal removal of Kahuna’s skull and antler from his carcass, likely sometime between March 20 and March 22. One antler was still on the skull and it is believed his other antler had been shed before his death. Park rangers urge anyone with information on this illegal incident to call Rocky Mountain National Park’s tip line at 970-586-1393 or email ROMO_Tipline@nps.gov. If you wish to remain anonymous please visit NPS Anonymous Tip Information. This link will provide other ways to report what you know. If you have information that could help investigators, please contact us. You do not have to tell us who you are, but please tell us what you know. Rocky Mountain National Park’s wildlife is a resource for all to enjoy and protect. The skull and antlers of this popular elk were cut and illegally removed from Rocky Mountain National Park. This elk’s remains should be allowed to return to the earth in Rocky Mountain National Park, where he brought much joy to thousands of park visitors over many years. Please help the park protect wildlife by reporting any suspicious activity. RMNP Update - March 9, 2022  NPS Photo: Moraine Park Water System Damaged Pipes Rocky Mountain National Park is seeking the public’s engagement and input on proposed infrastructure changes and improvements to Moraine Park Campground and nearby areas. The proposed project will take place in the eastern portion of the park, at the following locations:
MPCG is accessed via Bear Lake Road and is the largest of the park’s five front country campgrounds. It is open year-round and has 244 campsites that can accommodate a variety of camping equipment types, including up to 40-foot RVs, sprinter vans and tents. Over 30,000 campers stay at MPCG annually. The proposed project will include repairs and improvements to water, wastewater and electrical distribution systems servicing MPCG, nearby areas in Moraine Park, Beaver Meadows Entrance facilities and park housing units located on the western portion of High Drive within the park’s boundary. This infrastructure was installed in the 1960s and is well past the typical 30-year service life. This project will also relocate electric powerlines underground to reduce system damage caused by snow, wind, falling tree branches, electrical hazards or wildfire. The proposed Moraine Park Campground and Utility Rehabilitation Project will be funded by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). GAOA’s National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund, supported by revenue from energy development, provides up to $1.9 billion per year for five years to make significant enhancements in national parks and other public lands to ensure their preservation and provide opportunities for recreation, education and enjoyment for current and future visitors.  NPS Photo: Moraine Park Campsite experiences flooding GAOA, the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other construction funding sources are part of a concerted effort to address the extensive maintenance backlog in national parks. Thanks to GAOA funding, Rocky Mountain National Park will be able to address critical deferred maintenance issues at MPCG and nearby areas that are related to water and wastewater systems and electrical utilities which serve thousands of visitors each year.
At MPCG, this proposed project will also improve the visitor experience by rehabilitating the ranger station, replacing the campground entrance kiosk and improving the area near the dump station. Additionally, the project will update approximately 15 campsites to improve accessibility, address flooding and drainage issues and improve the health of nearby wetlands areas. Another camp host site will be added to the campground and electrical service will be extended to approximately 60 RV campsites. No changes are planned for the existing restroom buildings, amphitheater, or campground shuttle bus stop. There may be temporary closures and impacts to the Moraine Park Discovery Center and along the Bear Lake, Moraine Park, and Fern Lake roads. Why is this project important? The water and utility infrastructure at MPCG has not been updated since the campground was first built in the 1960s. Increased visitor usage, evolving trends in recreation, the need to improve access for all campers, and deferred maintenance for critical water and utility systems have all created a need to rehabilitate the campground and nearby areas. It is anticipated that MPCG will be closed for project construction from late May 2023 to June 1, 2024. Additional project work will take place in the campground after June 1 and some campsites may be impacted or temporary closures may take place. Public engagement is an important part of the park’s planning process. Rocky Mountain National Park is accepting public comments via PEPC on this proposed project for 30 days, beginning on March 10, 2022. To learn more, visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/rehabilitateMPCG. To leave a comment on the project’s PEPC page, click the “Open for Comment” link located on the left side of the screen. Comments may also be submitted via mail to: Rocky Mountain National Park Office of the Superintendent 1000 Hwy 36 Estes Park, CO 80517 Please be advised, before including your address, phone number, email address or other personal identifying information in your comment, that your entire comment – including all of your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. Although you can ask in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public view, we cannot guarantee we will be able to do so. For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park, visit www.nps.gov/romo or call the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206. |
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