Trail Ridge Road will not be open for Memorial Day weekend: National Park Service
For many, a trip up into the high country and particularly on Trail Ridge Road, marks a successful visit to Colorado during Memorial Day. But having the road closed on the holiday is also far from unheard of: Last year, the roadway reopened after the winter on May 31. The year before, it was May 27.
Is your vehicle legal to drive on I-70 this winter? Here's what to check
The National Park Service said that road-clearing crews have faced setbacks from previous progress.
'Wind has been the main challenge since last week, causing low visibility, snow drifting back over cleared areas, and a thick ice layer beneath drifted snow,' the Rocky Mountain National Park Service posted to Facebook. 'Snow and overnight freezing temperatures are forecast above 10,000 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park over the weekend.'
The 11-mile road is located above 11,500 feet, making it the highest continuous paved road in the U.S., cresting at 12,183 feet above sea level, according to the park, with few guardrails and no shoulders.
'Trail Ridge Road historically opens in late May, weather permitting,' the park service says on the Rocky Mountain National Park website.
According to the park website, RMNP staff will update the road's recorded phone line, 970-586-1222, when the road status changes.
There are also other scenic roads at RMNP, including Bear Lake Road and Endovalley Road.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
19 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Here are Yosemite's busiest entrances
Summer visitors flocking to Yosemite National Park can expect to hit the longest lines at the park's southern gate, acting superintendent Ray McPadden said Tuesday. Located two miles from the town of Fish Camp, that gate marks the park's only south-facing entrance, making it a hotspot for visitors from the Los Angeles area. Yosemite's second-busiest access point — the Big Oak Flat entrance, off Highway 120 — shares the load of Bay Area visitors with the Arch Rock Entrance, located down Highway 140. It's been almost three months since Yosemite began implementing a contentious new reservation system designed to keep the crowds of visitors at bay. Hourlong waits at popular entrance stations were common before the park launched its first trial reservation system five years ago. Now, McPadden said, Yosemite aims to keep wait times to a maximum of 10 minutes. 'Good news is, the vast majority of the days, you're going to wait less than 10 minutes,' McPadden told the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors this week. 'Bad news is, Saturday mornings, people are still very much piling up.' Wait times can jump up to almost an hour between 9 and 11 a.m. on Saturday mornings, McPadden said. Park leadership hopes to 'cycle people through faster' during these times, especially at the park's most popular entrances. They're piloting a public connectivity program at the Big Oak Flat entrance, he added — granting visitors internet access so they can pull up information about their reservation and lodgings on their cellphones while they wait in line. Yosemite's system requires reservations for visitors who enter the park between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Memorial Day weekend, between June 15 and Aug. 15, and over Labor Day weekend. It's a more relaxed version of the permanent day-use requirements that the park had planned to introduce this year, but put on an indefinite hold to give the Trump administration time to review the changes. The first Memorial Day under the reservation requirements went smoothly in spite of initial concerns that they would sow confusion at the gates. And McPadden portrayed the 'visitor-friendly' pilot system as an overall success. 'What we're generally seeing is people are getting to go where they want to go,' McPadden said. 'Traffic is free-flowing in the park. We're not seeing crazy lines. We're not seeing our ambulances failing to get to emergencies or any other emergency service disruptions. So this is all good.' The park is projected to hit 4.5 million visitors by the end of 2025, he added, which could make it the park's second or third busiest year on record. Yosemite set its visitation record when it welcomed more than 5 million visitors in 2016, the centennial year of the National Park system. Although McPadden did not say whether the pilot reservation system would be here to stay, he expressed optimism that the park would soon move toward a consistent 'new normal.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
This Is the Most-visited State Park in the U.S. for 2025—and It Has 19 Waterfalls in 2 Miles
Located in New York's Finger Lakes, Watkins Glen State Park leads this year's rankings by Google Maps. As travelers increasingly seek out nature-driven getaways, state parks have become popular destinations for everything from hiking and camping. While national parks often get the spotlight, state parks—also protected areas determined at the state level—offer equally stunning landscapes and easy access to local beauty. To see where Americans are heading this year, Google Maps recently analyzed its data to reveal the top 10 most visited state parks in the U.S. Google Maps based its rankings on direction requests made on the platform since Memorial Day 2025. Topping the list is Watkins Glen State Park in Schuyler County, New York. Watkins Glen State Park is the most well-known of the Finger Lakes State Parks, with 19 waterfalls packed into just two miles of gorges and streams. The park welcomes both overnight campers and day trip visitors, offering amenities like an Olympic-size pool, facilities for camping and picnicking, and opportunities for hiking and rainbow trout fishing. Similar to other New York State Parks, Watkins Glen State Park charges a fee for vehicles to use its facilities, which can vary depending on location and season. At the moment, the cost is $10 per vehicle, which includes use of the park's pool. Camping costs $18 to $30 per night, with an additional $5 nightly fee for out of state residents. New York State has two other parks in the top 10: Letchworth State Park at No. 5, often referred to as the "Grand Canyon of the East," and Jones Beach State Park at No. 10, known for its wide stretches of sand and boardwalk. The top 10 is rounded out by Liberty State Park in New Jersey at No. 2, Silver Falls State Park in Oregon at No. 3, Starved Rock State Park in Illinois at No. 4, Hammonasset Beach State Park in Connecticut at No. 6, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve in California at No. 7, Warren Dunes State Park in Michigan at No. 8, and Blue Spring State Park in Florida in ninth place. According the Google Maps data, the most calming state park is St. Andrews State Park in Florida, which has a mile-and-a-half of pristine beaches for fishing and swimming that is a popular spot to see migratory birds. The best state park for hiking is Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin, which has 30 miles of hiking trails through quartzite bluffs that overlook a 360-acre lake. Read the original article on Travel & Leisure Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Colorado National Guard mobilized to support Elk, Lee fire suppression efforts
DENVER (KDVR) — On Wednesday night, Gov. Jared Polis authorized the mobilization of the Colorado National Guard to aid with fire response near Meeker. The authorization allows the state authority to use the National Guard assets in fire suppression efforts if necessary. More evacuations ordered for multiple wildfires in Colorado The Governor's Office noted that the wind has continued to drive the Rio Blanco County fires, pushing the Lee Fire to jump Highway 13 on Wednesday and leading to the area around Meeker being evacuated and the town of Meeker being placed on pre-evacuation status. The Lee Fire, as of Wednesday evening, was estimated to have burned 45,000 acres, according to the Colorado Governor's Office. Over the weekend, Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency for the Elk Fire in Rio Blanco County, which is still burning southeast of Meeker. That declaration was updated on Tuesday to include the Lee Fire, which had previously been burning only on Bureau of Land Management lands. State Emergency Operations and Resource Mobilization Plans were also activated with the disaster declaration. A link to view the live evacuations map in Rio Blanco County is available here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
