Trail Ridge Road opens for the season, just in time for Memorial Day weekend

Because of melting snow, conditions could be icy.

Ashley Dean

May. 25, 2018, 10:18 a.m.

Above Rainbow Curve on Trail Ridge Road on April 27. (Courtesy of RMNP)

Just a few days after CDOT announced Mt. Evans Highway would open for Memorial Day weekend, Rocky Mountain National Park has opened Trail Ridge Road.

Now you have two great options for very-high-elevation driving that will make your visiting friends and family nervous.

Why are you doing this to them?

(Just kidding. It’s beautiful and accessible wilderness!)

But seriously, be careful. Because of melting snow, conditions could be icy.

Trail Ridge Road usually opens for Memorial Day weekend, though last year the opening was delayed until May 31 because of a snow storm. At the end of last season, it closed on Oct. 27.

The road is the highest continuous paved road in the country — reaching 12,138 feet about sea level — and it connects the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake. The Alpine Visitor Center is the highest in the National Parks Service at 11,796 feet.

The visitor center and the Trail Ridge Store should be open as of today, according to a press release, and no nighttime closures are expected right now.

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Above Rainbow Curve on Trail Ridge Road on April 27. (Courtesy of RMNP)