While some of America’s most popular national parks are dropping reservations this summer, they will still be required at the most popular one in Colorado.

Rocky Mountain National Park has announced its timed-entry reservation system for the peak season from May 22 through mid-October. The system returns a crowd control measure that debuted five years ago and was finalized in a 2024 plan. 

Details for 2026 mirror those that regular visitors have come to expect: Two permits can be booked at recreation.gov, one for accessing the park plus the Bear Lake Road corridor and another applying to all boundaries except that most sought corridor. The Bear Lake Road reservation period will be from 5 a.m.-6 p.m. May 22-Oct. 19. The “rest of the park” permit applies to 9 a.m.-2 p.m. May 22-Oct. 13. 

A news release credited the time- entry reservation system for managing visitation “in a way that maintains positive visitor experiences, promotes safety, protects the park’s resources and supports the park’s ability to maintain daily operations.” 

Rocky Mountain National Park logged 4.1 million visitors in 2024 ー data have not been posted for 2025 ー in line with numbers from 2023 and down from 4.4 million in 2021 and a record 4.6 million in 2019. Arches, Glacier and Yosemite national parks have similarly aimed to manage numbers with reservations in recent years. 

But not this year. 

For those three parks, the National Park Service announced “tailored approaches” for this summer. 

“Our national parks belong to the American people, and our priority is keeping them open and accessible,” Kevin Lilly, acting assistant secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said in a statement. “We’re expanding access where conditions allow and using targeted tools only where necessary to protect visitor safety, maintain emergency access and preserve these extraordinary places for future generations.”

The “tools” were described as “real-time traffic management,” such as diversions and parking closures. 

In a statement, the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks Executive Director Emily Thompson criticized “another ill-advised move by the Administration,” adding: “We fear this hazardous decision will cause even more damage at parks that are already struggling to protect resources and provide quality visitor experiences thanks to recent and severe staffing cuts.”

Rocky Mountain National Park’s reservation system has drawn mixed reviews over the years ー as seen from the park’s recent social media post about returning the system. Some echoed one commenter “appreciat(ing) the effort you put into protecting the park from being over-loved,” while others expressed frustration and called for the system to be dropped. 

The park called its 2024 Day Use Visitor Access Plan “the culmination of extensive planning, public engagement and managed access pilots that began in 2016.” That 2024 plan finalized the reservation system, which will launch May 1 at recreation.gov.

Reservations will open then for slots from May 22 through June 30. The next round of reservations will open June 1 for slots in July, followed by more rounds Aug. 1 and Sept. 1 for ensuing months.