Yesterday, Monday, October 24, Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, officially closed for the season to through travel. Many popular driving destinations for this time of year, including Bear Lake Road, Moraine Park, Horseshoe Park, and the section of Trail Ridge Road along the Kawuneeche Valley, are open.
Trail Ridge Road is not designed to be an all-season road, with 11 miles above 11,500 feet, few guard rails, and no shoulders. Winter conditions of drifting snow, high winds, and below-freezing temperatures occur above 10,000 feet. Trail Ridge Road is currently closed at Many Parks Curve on the east and Colorado River Trailhead on the west. Closure points on the road may fluctuate this fall; however, the road is closed to through travel for the season.
Trail Ridge Road typically opens the last week in May, weather permitting. This year Trail Ridge Road opened on May 27.
Old Fall River Road closed for the season to vehicles on October 3. Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road will remain open to bicycles and leashed pets through November 30. Leashed pets and bicycles are only allowed on the road, not side trails. On December 1, these roads will revert to “winter trail status,” meaning that bikes and leashed pets are no longer permitted beyond the closed gates, but pedestrians, snowshoers, and skiers are.
For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park, please visit www.nps.gov/romo or call the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206.
