Next summer, outdoors enthusiasts and weekend warriors looking to get away from the city will finally be able to take public transportation to Red Rocks. But most concertgoers won’t be able to use it yet.

After years of development and collaboration between several regional agencies and governments, a pilot shuttle service between the Regional Transportation District’s Golden Light Rail Station and the nearby town of Morrison will launch Memorial Day Weekend 2026, according to a news release from the program.

The free service will operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays through Labor Day of next year, according to the release. The buses will operate on a 15-minute frequency, with a route that will include several stops, including Matthews/Winters Park, the Martin G. Lockley Center at Dinosaur Ridge and Red Rocks Trading Post.

While late-night concert operation won’t be part of the program next summer, it could become part of the service in future years, said Jefferson County Open Space Trails and Access Program Manager Emily Guffin over the phone Tuesday afternoon.

“As part of the pilot, we’re proposing to collect a lot of data, both objective data in terms of ridership counts and who is getting off where, but also potentially survey data, understanding how people are using the shuttle and how they would like to use the shuttle,” Guffin said.

There are currently six stops slated for the pilot program:

• The Jefferson County Government Center – Golden Station
• Matthews/Winters Park
• The Martin G. Lockley Center at Dinosaur Ridge
• Red Rocks Trading Post
• Downtown Morrison
• The Morrison Natural History Museum

The service, in development since 2023, was put together through a collaboration between several local government agencies, including Jefferson County, the City and County of Denver, the Town of Morrison and RTD, according to the release. The goal of the program, Guffin said, is to promote equitable and sustainable transit access to Red Rocks.

“These key destinations in this area are a little bit inaccessible by public transit right now,” Guffin said. “It’s really been a collaborative effort for all of us to come together and each use our strengths to make this happen.”

The RTD has already committed $840,000 toward the pilot program, slated for an initial three-year run from 2026 through 2028, according to the release. With the service branching off an existing light rail station, it will expand the agency’s transportation network further outside the metro Denver area.

“This project is about more than just transportation—it’s about making our incredible natural resources more accessible, reducing traffic and emissions, and supporting local economies,” said Jefferson County Commissioner Andy Kerr, credited with helping conceptualize the initial plan for the program, in the release.