Vehicle travel starts Friday on 11,817-foot alpine road in Rocky Mountain National Park
Courtesy, RMNP
Rocky Mountain National Park announced Tuesday the opening day for Old Fall River Road, the 11,817-foot high uphill-only dirt road in Colorado’s largest national park.
According to the park service, spring opening operations for Old Fall River Road continue, however, the road will open for the season on Friday (Independence Day).
Maintenance signs alert drivers, hikers, cyclists and national park visitors that Old Fall River Road is operating on Spring Opening Road Maintenance hours through June 2025. The road usually opens at the end of June/early July for vehicle travel.
The park service said on Tuesday the road will be closed to all uses — including pedestrians, people walking dogs on leash, and cyclists — between the hours of 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Beginning at 6 a.m. on Wednesday through Thursday the road will be closed to all uses for dust abatement.
“Old Fall River Road was built between 1913 and 1920,” park officials said about the road’s history. “It is an unpaved road which starts next to Endovalley Picnic Area and ends at the top of Fall River Pass, merging with Trail Ridge Road at Alpine Visitor Center.”
The road follows the steep slope of Mount Chapin’s south face and due to the narrow and winding nature of the road, the scenic 9.4-mile route is one-way uphill only.
Vehicles over 25 feet and vehicles pulling trailers are prohibited from traveling on Old Fall River Road.
During certain hours of the day, visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park will need a timed entry reservation.
There are two reservation options available:
Timed Entry or Timed Entry + Bear Lake Road.
Timed Entry Reservations are required to enter the park between the hours of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
These reservations provide access to areas of Rocky Mountain National Park located outside of the Bear Lake Road corridor, including access to Old Fall River Road. To learn more visit https://go.nps.gov/romo/timedentry.
(Contact Denver Gazette Digital Strategist Jonathan Ingraham at jonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.com or on X at @Skingraham.)
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