As of Friday, Oct. 27, Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park is closed to through travel for the season. This is slightly later than normal but much earlier than last year, when the road stayed open into mid-November.
Trail Ridge Road is not designed to be an all-season road. Eleven miles of the road are above 11,500 feet, and it's cold and snowy and windy up there, plus there's no shoulder and not many guard rails. The park service plows it as necessary through Columbus Day, and it stays open after that only if the snow holds. The road typically opens again at the end of May.
Weather permitting, Trail Ridge Road will be open to Many Parks Curve on the east side of the park and to the Colorado River Trailhead on the west side of the park.
Cyclists and pedestrians with leashed pets can keep using the road until Dec. 1.
For more information about visiting the park, go to www.nps.gov/romo or call the park’s Information Office at 970-586-1206.
