Rocky Mountain National Park is the third-most visited park in the National Park Service, attracting nearly 4.6 million people in 2018.įor further roads information, contact the park’s information office at 97 or the Trail Ridge Road status recorded phone line at 97. The earliest the road has opened was May 7, 2002, and the latest was June 26, 1943. The road’s earliest opening ever occurred on May 7. In 2012, after a memorably snow-filled winter, the road had a late opening on June 6. In 2017, it opened Wednesday, May 31, after late snowstorms dumped three feet of snow in the park in mid-May. Snowplow workers saw average to below average snowpack in many locations but numerous May storms brought significant snow and drifting above 11,500 feet, delaying the opening. The opening and closing of the road depends on the weather. Seasonal opening and closing dates for secondary roads are listed below: Cades Cove Loop Road: Vehicle-free access along the Cades Cove Loop Road each Wednesday, from May 3rd through September 27th. Last year, the paved road opened May 24 and in 2017, it opened on May 31. Secondary roads are subject to seasonal closures. The road, which surpasses 12,000 feet in elevation, typically opens by Memorial Day.

More: Your guide to Colorado 14ers, camping, hikes and more If the weather cooperates, the park will allow the road to remain open 24 hours a day. Park staff cautions that despite the road opening, melting snow might refreeze, making roads icy. The park anticipates the Alpine Visitor Center and Trail Ridge Store, located along the road at 11,796 feet, to open by this weekend. Snowplow crews working from the east and west sides of the park since mid-April were finally able to clear the 48-mile road and open it Wednesday, one day sooner than in 2011. Rocky Mountain National Park’s popular Trail Ridge Road has finally opened for the season, the latest opening since 2011.

Trail ridge road opening 2019