Will Rocky Mountain National Park require reservations again this summer?

As summer approaches, fans of Rocky Mountain National Park are likely starting to wonder what recreation at the iconic Colorado destination will look like in months soon to come.

Park officials say they are not planning on using the same reservation system as last summer at this time. This reservation system required visitors to pay a $2 fee (in addition to the $25 fee per vehicle) to reserve a timed-entry for accessing the park.

The timed entry permit system was put into place at Rocky to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, capping capacity at 60% or 4,800 vehicles per day. 

“At this time, we do not plan to implement the same type of timed-entry permit system as was used in 2020, but will continue restrictions when necessary and may implement other pilot visitor management techniques if congestion and crowding warrants,” a park official stated.

More than 4.7 million people visited Rocky Mountain National Park in 2019, that's a 1.7% increase from 2018 and a 44% increase since 2012.

“Since 2016, we have put vehicle restrictions in place on the Bear Lake Road, Wild Basin area, and Alpine Visitor Center when congestion and crowding warrants,” a park official stated. “In 2019, these restrictions occurred every day in July (visitation was over 970,000 visitors that month), most days in August, in addition to weekends in June and September.”

Rocky Mountain National Park stretches across 415 square miles of alpine beauty, filled with 355 miles of hiking trails, 147 alpine lakes, and 77 peaks rising higher than 12,000 feet. The elevation at the park ranges from 7,860 feet to 14,259 feet.

Timed entry reservations are currently not required at the park. Visitors must still purchase an entrance pass, which is $25 per vehicle, or hold an annual pass to enter the park.

For further information on Rocky Mountain National Park, visit nps.gov/romo or call the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206.