Timed-entry reservations to enter Rocky Mountain National Park went on sale this week for the last eight days of May and the month of June.
The reservation requirement goes into effect the Friday before Memorial Day. Reservations are made through recreation.gov. The cost is $2 and is separate from the cost of entry. Digital entry passes may be purchased through the same website when purchasing reservations, saving time at the entry gate.
As in past years, reservations to access the entire park, including the Bear Lake corridor, are required from 5 a.m. until 6 p.m. through Oct. 20. Reservations to visit all areas of the part except the Bear Lake corridor are required from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. through Oct. 14. The park holds back 40% of the available reservations until the night before entry. Those next-day reservations are released at 7 p.m.
Reservations for July will be available on June 1, for August on July 1, and so on.
Reservations also may be made by calling recreation.gov at 877-444-6777. Reservations cannot be made in person at the park.
Park officials say the reservation system is necessary to prevent overcrowding and resource damage, but park visitation has declined each of the past two years. RMNP was the fourth-busiest national park last year with more than 4.1 million visitors. Since 2020, park officials have called the system a “pilot” program, but they have been formulating a long-range plan that is expected to result in making the system permanent in 2025.
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Reservations “provide day-use visitor access in a way that protects resources while creating opportunities for high-quality visitor experiences,” park officials said in a statement. The park saw a 44% increase in visitation from 3.2 million in 2012 to 4.7 million in 2019.
Other national parks with reservation requirements include Arches, Zion, Glacier, Yosemite and Mount Rainier.