Colorado’s Trail Ridge Road closes for winter season

Trail Ridge Road (US-34) in Rocky Mountain National Park, the highest paved continuous road in North America, is now closed to through-vehicle travel for the winter season.

The Park said the road is closed on the east side of the park at Many Parks Curve and on the west side at Colorado River Trailhead.

“The closed portion of the road remains open to pedestrians, bicyclists and leashed pets during the winter,” the Park said. “Bicycles and leashed pets are only allowed on the road, not on side trails or on tundra.”

The Park urged its visitors should be prepared for harsh and rapidly changing conditions at high elevations if they plan on hiking or biking up the road.

According to the Park, Trail Ridge Road was not designed as an all-season road.

“Eleven miles of road are above 11,500 feet, with few guardrails and no shoulders,” the Park said. “Drifting snow, high winds and below-freezing temperatures commonly occur above 10,000 feet.”

The road typically reopens to through travel during the last week of May, weather permitting. In 2026, it opened on Friday, May 29.

However, several scenic driving destinations remain open during the winter, the Park said, including Bear Lake Road and Endovalley Road.

On the east side of the park, motorists can travel on Trail Ridge Road to Hidden Valley and Many Parks Curve. On the west side, motorists can travel from the Grand Lake Entrance to the Colorado River Trailhead.

For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park, please visit www.nps.gov/romo or call the park Information Office at 970-586-1206.