4.1 million visitors traveled to Rocky Mountain National Park in 2023, making it one of the most visited in the country. The Colorado park is best known for crystalline mountain lakes and animals such as elk and bighorn sheep.
With increased visitor numbers, Rocky Mountain has also been dealing with the kinds of problems that any rural area not designed to have millions of people passing through will come across with increased popularity: crowding, degradation of trails and visitor infrastructure and, of course, pollution from cars’ exhaust systems.
As a way to combat some of these issues, in 2024, the National Park Service (NPS) launched a seasonal slot system requiring vehicles coming in to register their visit in advance to better control the flow of visitors.
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With the peak summer park-visiting season now at an end, Rocky Mountain is closing altogether the main road leading through the park as it conducts a series of repairs.
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Old Fall River Road, the main thoroughfare through the park, will be closed to cars on Oct. 8 and all visitors on Oct. 10. Pedestrians, cyclists and visitors with pets on leashes will be able to pass through during periodic periods throughout the fall — including the weekend of Oct. 11 to 14 and from Oct. 19 to Nov. 30.
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“Old Fall River Road will reopen temporarily to bicycles, leashed pets and walkers for Friday, October 11 through Monday, October 14,” the NPS writes of the new changes. “Starting, Tuesday, October 15, Old Fall River Road will close again to all uses for continued road maintenance through Friday, October 18. On Saturday, October 19, the road will reopen to bicycles, leashed pets and walkers through November 30.”
For those coming by car, there will be one remaining option as the Trail Ridge Road leading out of the park and to the town of Grand Lake will remain open per usual to keep access through the area and prioritize use of the highway better designed for large numbers of vehicles.
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‘The relatively subtle old route remains foremost’
“In the minds of many park visitors, the relatively subtle old route remains foremost,” the NPS writes further. “Unlike Trail Ridge Road, which is well known for being the highest continuous paved road in the nation, the Old Fall River Road is a much more ‘motor nature trail.'”
Closing down areas of the park for repairs during less popular periods is a strategy frequently used by the NPS. The Ramsay Cascades Trail in Tennessee’s and South Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains is currently closed for repairs that were supposed to be done by mid-November but may now be further set off by Hurricane Helene. The Blue Ridge Parkway leading through the park is closed indefinitely due to damage caused by the storm.
Other parks in closed to repairs this autumn season include Glacier National Park in Montana, Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and Saguaro National Park in Arizona; the latter’s popular Cactus Forest Loop Drive and Mica View Road will follow a staggered opening schedule to allow park authorities to conduct a series of repairs.
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