Estes Park · RedAwning

Rocky Mountain National ParkSixty peaks above 12,000 feet, the highest paved through-road in America, and a single town between Denver and the alpine

265,807 acres of high-country Colorado wilderness — sixty peaks above 12,000 feet, the 14,259-foot Longs Peak, and Trail Ridge Road, the highest paved through-road in the United States at 12,183 feet. Established in 1915, the park sits an hour and a half from Denver, an hour from Estes Park, and inside the largest contiguous tract of alpine tundra below the Arctic Circle. Annual visitation runs about 4.1 million.

Hours todayOpen 24 hrs – undefinedWednesday hours
TicketsFrom $30Private vehicle (1 day)
LocationEstes Park, Colorado1000 US Highway 36
Official sitenps.govPlan your visit

265,807Acres
~4.1MAnnual visitors
14,259 ft (Longs)Highest peak
12,183 ftTrail Ridge Road max

Rocky Mountain National Park was established by Congress on January 26, 1915 — the result of a fifteen-year campaign led by naturalist Enos Mills, the so-called "John Muir of the Rockies," who lived in a cabin near Longs Peak and made the case in print, on the speaking circuit, and in Washington. The 265,807-acre park spans the Continental Divide along Colorado's Front Range, with sixty named peaks above 12,000 feet, the 14,259-foot Longs Peak (a Class 3 climb attempted by 30,000 hikers a year, summited by about half), and the largest contiguous expanse of alpine tundra below the Arctic Circle.

Trail Ridge Road, the park's signature drive, opened to traffic in 1932 — a 48-mile route between Estes Park and Grand Lake that climbs to 12,183 feet at its high point, making it the highest paved through-road in the United States. Eight miles of it are above 11,500 feet, all in alpine tundra. The Alpine Visitor Center at 11,796 feet is the highest visitor center in the park system. The road closes from mid-October through late May for snow.

About 90% of visitors come from the eastern (Estes Park) side, an hour and a half drive from Denver. The west side, accessed through Grand Lake (Colorado's deepest natural lake), is quieter and adds two of the most photographed lake-and-peak compositions in the park: Bear Lake (a 30-foot-deep glacier-carved tarn at 9,475 feet, with Hallett Peak as the backdrop) and the Sky Pond / Loch Vale chain accessed via Glacier Gorge. The full glacier-cirque sequence — Bear Lake → Nymph Lake → Dream Lake → Emerald Lake → Lake Haiyaha — sits within a two-hour walk of the same trailhead.

Trail Ridge Road — 12,183 ft
The highest paved through-road in the United States — a 48-mile route across the Continental Divide between Estes Park and Grand Lake, with eight miles above 11,500 feet entirely in alpine tundra. Open late May through mid-October only. The Alpine Visitor Center at 11,796 feet is the park system's highest.
Bear Lake & the Glacier Gorge Lakes
A 30-foot-deep glacier-carved tarn at 9,475 feet, with Hallett Peak as the backdrop — the most-photographed lake in Colorado. The trailhead also feeds the Nymph–Dream–Emerald lake chain (3.5 miles round-trip), Lake Haiyaha, and the route to Sky Pond and the Loch Vale.
Longs Peak — 14,259 ft
The park's only fourteener and the most-attempted Class 3 summit in Colorado — about 30,000 hikers a year start the 14.5-mile, 5,100-foot Keyhole Route from the Longs Peak Ranger Station. Summit success rate is roughly 50%; the climb requires a 3 AM start and is generally only safe in July and August.
Wild Basin & Ouzel Falls
The southeast corner of the park, less crowded than the Bear Lake Corridor — a 5.4-mile round-trip trail past Copeland Falls and Calypso Cascades to Ouzel Falls, with optional extensions to Bluebird Lake and Ouzel Lake. The trailhead skips the timed-entry corridor permit requirement.
Elk Bugle (Fall)
From mid-September through mid-October, large bull elk move down from the alpine tundra into Moraine Park, Horseshoe Park, and the meadows around Estes Park to bugle and challenge each other for harems — one of the most reliable major-mammal mating displays in any national park.
The Alluvial Fan
The 1982 Lawn Lake Flood reshaped the lower Roaring River valley overnight — the resulting alluvial fan is now one of the easiest, most family-friendly stops in the park, a quarter-mile loop with cascading water and free parking off Old Fall River Road.
Old Fall River Road
The park's original 1920 road over the Continental Divide — a one-way (uphill) gravel route from Endovalley to the Alpine Visitor Center, with twelve switchbacks and a typical opening from July through mid-October. Drivable in any vehicle but slow and narrow; closes in poor weather.
Grand Lake — Colorado's Deepest
Just outside the park's western entrance, Grand Lake is Colorado's deepest natural lake at 389 feet — the western Trail Ridge Road terminus and the source of the Colorado River. Boating, fishing, and the historic 1881 Grand Lake Lodge sit on its eastern shore.

Open hours

The park itself is open 24/7 year-round. Trail Ridge Road (the through-road across the Continental Divide) closes seasonally for snow from mid-October through late May. Timed-entry permits are required May 23 through October 19 for vehicles entering the park between 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM.

MondayOpen 24 hrs
TuesdayOpen 24 hrs
WednesdayTodayOpen 24 hrs
ThursdayOpen 24 hrs
FridayOpen 24 hrs
SaturdayOpen 24 hrs
SundayOpen 24 hrs

Note · Bear Lake Road timed-entry permits are required separately during peak season — get them on Recreation.gov in advance, with a small daily release ten days before each entry date.

Ticket pricing

Per-person admission. Buy in advance to skip the gate line.

Private vehicle (1 day)$30One vehicle and all passengers, 1 calendar day
Private vehicle (1–7 days)$35One vehicle and all passengers, 7 consecutive days
Per person (foot, bike, horse)$20Individuals 16+, 7 consecutive days
Annual park pass$70Unlimited entry to Rocky Mountain for 12 months
Timed-entry permit$2Required May 23–Oct 19 for vehicles entering 9 AM – 2 PM

Children 15 and under enter free. Timed-entry reservations during the May 23 – October 19 window are required *in addition* to a regular entrance pass — they're a permit to enter, not a fee. Two reservation types exist: "Bear Lake Road Corridor" (covers all park areas including Bear Lake) and "Rest of Park" (everywhere except Bear Lake Road). Book on Recreation.gov.

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