{"id":23136,"date":"2020-05-29T10:41:01","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T16:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/news\/rocky-reopens\/"},"modified":"2020-05-29T10:41:01","modified_gmt":"2020-05-29T16:41:01","slug":"rocky-reopens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/rocky-reopens\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocky reopens"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/Rocky-shn-052920-1-1024x682.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/Rocky-shn-052920-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/Rocky-shn-052920-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/Rocky-shn-052920-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/Rocky-shn-052920-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/Rocky-shn-052920-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/p><figcaption><strong>Elk graze Wednesday at Rocky Mountain National Park. The park reopened to the public and is about to install a new entry fee system.<\/strong><br \/><em>Robert Mendoza \/ Sky-Hi News<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">When visitors returned to Rocky Mountain National Park after a 67 day closure due to COVID-19, there were no major crowds on the west side of the park \u2014 but there was a constant flow of happy hikers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Rocky began a phased reopening Wednesday, and hikers with free time ran out into the somewhat rainy weather to enjoy the park. Grand Lake local Kyle Ingle was just about to begin his hike at East Inlet, his first at Rocky in over two months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s always nice when our trails get reopened,\u201d Ingle said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For Denver residents Jean and Erin Speer, it was a beautiful day to get out. The mother and daughter even saw a moose, and they were glad to see Rocky open.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row shn-donation shn-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/02\/shn-logo-2x-wht.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/02\/shn-logo-2x-wht.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019re excited for everything to reopen,\u201d Erin Speer added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The park is open to visitors without reservations until Thursday, but staff will be evaluating the level of visitation throughout the day to restrict access as needed. Starting Thursday, all visitors will need a reservation to enter the park.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Reservations are on sale now through <a href=\"http:\/\/www.recreation.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.recreation.gov<\/a> for entry through July 31. The reservation fee is $2, plus the $25 day pass. Annual or senior pass holders will be required to get a permit, but will only have to pay the $2 reservation fee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Permits will go on sale each month on a rolling basis throughout the summer, with August reservations available July 1; September reservations available Aug. 1; and October reservations available Sept. 1.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">There will also be reservations available two days in advance beginning at 8 a.m. For example, additional July 1 reservations will be available June 29.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Park visitors with a permit will be able to enter the park within a two-hour window of availability between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The permit system will apply to all areas of the park. In outlying areas like East Inlet and North Inlet, permits will need to be printed and displayed on a dashboard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In the initial opening phase, the park will open approximately 60% of Rocky\u2019s maximum capacity or 4,800 vehicles per day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ingle usually hikes at Rocky every other week during normal times. He said that he doesn\u2019t see the reservation system as too much of an inconvenience and that he\u2019ll be able to plan around the reservations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think considering the circumstances, it\u2019s probably in their best interest to keep it open,\u201d Ingle said of the time entry system. \u201cI think it\u2019s a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For Jean and Erin Speer, who typically only come up a couple times a year during a regular season, the reservations mean they might not come back this summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cA lot of people love to do this,\u201d Jean Speer said. \u201cI think it will be a disappointment to a lot of people. I don\u2019t think many people plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Rocky was the third most visited national park in the country last year with more than half a million visitors entering Rocky from Grand Lake and even more coming to Grand Lake from Trail Ridge Road.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It\u2019s unclear how capping total visits at 60% will affect the small town that gets a large potion of its economic activity during those summer months, especially when most visitors enter the park from the east side. The park said that the reservation system will go away in later phases of reopening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While much of the park will be accessible for visitors, a return to full operations will be phased and services limited. Park officials said that visitors\u2019 actions will help determine if areas remain open.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Hikers should keep a 6 foot distance or wear a cloth face covering if distance is not possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Trail Ridge Road is open to the Colorado River Trailhead on the west side and to Rainbow Curve on the east side. Park snowplow operators continue to plow snow along the roadways and parking lots.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Trail Ridge Road will open as soon as plowing is completed, weather permitting. Fall River Road will not be open to motorized vehicles during this phase, but will be open to bicyclists and pedestrians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Frequently asked questions about the timed entry system can be found at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nps.gov\/romo\/planyourvisit\/fees.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.nps.gov\/romo\/planyourvisit\/fees.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/news\/rocky-reopens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Sky-Hi News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elk graze Wednesday at Rocky Mountain National Park. The park reopened to the public and is about to install a new entry fee system.Robert Mendoza \/ Sky-Hi News When visitors returned to Rocky Mountain National Park after a 67 day closure due to COVID-19, there were no major crowds on the west side of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23136","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-21 16:23:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23136\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}