Timed-entry reservation permits for Rocky Mountain National Park open May 1, giving visitors their first chance to book access for the park’s summer rush. The initial reservation window, which goes on sale at 8 a.m. MT, covers May 22 through June 30.
Reservations for later months will open on the first day of each month for any dates still available that month and for the full next month. The system applies to Rocky Mountain National Park and Eldora Canyon State Park, both popular Colorado public lands managed with access limits when demand is highest.
For Rocky Mountain National Park, reservations are required May 22 through Oct. 13 for all areas except the Bear Lake Road Corridor, and through Oct. 18 for the corridor itself. Bear Lake Road Corridor reservations cover the corridor and the rest of the park and are required from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. The other reservation option covers all of the park except the Bear Lake Corridor and is required from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Visitors who enter before or after those restricted hours do not need a timed-entry reservation, although entrance fees still apply without one. The park says more information is available on its website, and reservations can be made at recreation.gov.
The rollout matters because timed-entry has become part of how Colorado’s most visited public lands manage crowding during peak season, and more reservation systems for other state and federal sites are expected to follow. For anyone planning a summer trip, May 1 is the day the calendar turns into a gatekeeper.