My first visit to Rocky Mountain National Park was only for six hours, part of a whirlwind tour of parks in Colorado and the Southwest a few years ago.
My second visit was six days, but it took a lot of planning to make it happen.
Like several other popular national parks, Rocky has been using a timed entry system to control visitation for the past several years. If you show up at the entrance gate without a reservation during the required hours, you’ll be turned away.
On that trip two years ago, the only timed entry I could secure in advance was for noon on a Thursday in the second week of my long-planned vacation time. I actually reversed my entire trip to fit in that six-hour visit.
So, another visit has been on my list.
But planning a trip to Rocky gets confusing because there are several different ways to get in:
- An “Access” pass is needed between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to enter any part of the park except the popular Bear Lake Road corridor. This pass will allow you to visit Trail Ridge Road, Wild Basin, the Kawuneeche Valley, and other areas.
- An “Access+” pass is needed to enter Bear Lake Road between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m. (and also gets you into any other part of the park).
- If you have a campsite reservation, you can enter any time after 1 p.m. on the day your reservation begins, and you can come and go as you please for the duration of your stay. This includes access to Bear Lake Road if you are at Glacier Basin, Moraine Park, or Aspenglen campgrounds.
- A Hiker Shuttle runs between Estes Park and the Park & Ride transfer point on Bear Lake Road. You need to reserve a ticket for the shuttle (one for each person in your group), but once you have a ticket, you don’t need a timed entry reservation. (Ignore the confusing warning on the reservation website that says you may also need a timed entry reservation. You don’t, unless you are also planning to drive in later in the day.)
- If you don’t have any of these, you can enter the Bear Lake Road corridor before 5 a.m. or after 6 p.m., and any other part of the park before 9 a.m. or after 2 p.m.
Three visitor centers are located before you get to the entrance gate, so if you arrive before your timed entry, you can go to the visitors center and check out the exhibits until it’s time for you to enter.
(Don’t line up on the side of Bear Lake Road waiting for 6 p.m. One day during my stay, I turned onto Bear Lake Road shortly before 6 and there were cars blocking traffic. A ranger came up and told them to leave.)
All of the permits mentioned above are purchased through the Recreation.gov website or app.
If you search for your desired dates, you may be disappointed at first because reservations go quickly. But after initial disappointment I learned that the sale of campsite reservations and timed entry permits is staggered, giving you a chance to get in even if you haven’t planned your trip a year in advance.
Some campsites can only be reserved two weeks out. But when you make the reservation, you can reserve the site for up to seven nights. I believe there may be some with shorter windows, but information is hard to come by.
Before they have opened for reservations, these sites are listed as “NR” on Recreation.gov, which means “not yet reservable.” So, it pays to check which sites will are still listed as “NR” for your desired dates, and then come back as soon as the reservation window opens to claim a site.
Similarly, a certain number of timed entry reservations and Hiker Shuttle reservations are reserved until the night before. So, if you will be staying outside the park, you can always try to get an entry or Hiker Shuttle reservation the night before. If that fails, you can try entering before 9 a.m. or wait until 2 p.m.
All of this and we (you, the reader, and me, the solo traveler) haven’t even entered the park yet! Getting to your campsite can be an ordeal, too.
First, you pull up to the entrance gate. There will be a long line at peak hours, despite the need for a reservation.
There is an entrance fee. If you have an annual park pass, you need to show the ranger your pass along with your ID. Then, you need to show your timed entry reservation or campsite reservation. (Print it out because cell service is sketchy in the area.) If you have a timed entry reservation, they will give you a piece of paper to stick on your windshield.
If you’re going onto Bear Lake Road (which includes going to Glacier Basin or Moraine Park campground), the turn is right after the Beaver Meadow entrance station near Estes Park. When you then turn onto Bear Lake Road you show another ranger your timed entry or campsite reservation.
Then, if you are camping, you proceed to the campground and check in yet again. This time, the ranger will give you a sticker to put in your window showing your reservation dates. This gets you through the entrance gates more quickly (after waiting in line) for the rest of your visit.
Even with the need for a reservation, the park is still fairly crowded, but not so much that you can’t get around. I took the shuttle to the popular Bear Lake hiking area twice, but I drove everywhere else and was always able to find a parking spot.
After all of that, I did actually have time to enjoy the park! More on that another time.