Innovative Timed-Entry System Now a Permanent Fixture at Rocky Mountain National Park

Today, Rocky Mountain National Park leadership officially made its seasonal timed-entry system permanent. The final environmental assessment was lauded by former Rocky Mountain leadership and advocates including the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).

“NPCA applauds Rocky Mountain Park for finalizing this strong and forward-looking visitor use management plan,” said NPCA Colorado Program Manager Tracy Coppola. “After the park’s visitation increased by nearly 50% over the last decade, innovative and thoughtful action was needed. Park leadership delivered, with a final plan that is adaptive over time, transparent, and built in community, alongside advocates, Estes Park and Grand Lake leaders, and all who care about this national park and Colorado treasure.”

Rocky Mountain is one of the busiest parks in the national park system, experiencing a 42% increase in visitors over the last decade; the park’s less than 3 million visitors in 2010 grew to 4.6 million in 2019. Over the last five years, park leadership worked alongside local business communities, park advocates and others to draft and finalize the management plan, to support a more sustainable future for park visitors, resources, staff, and infrastructure.

“As former Superintendent of Rocky Mountain, I greatly appreciate the long and complex journey that staff took to reach this final plan. I’m proud that we were able to experiment with various managed access strategies over the last four years, ensuring transparency and public engagement throughout the process,” said Darla Sidles, former Superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park. Sidles served as Rocky Mountain Superintendent from 2016-2023.

In 2021, a Utah State University (USU) study conducted at Rocky Mountain found that over three-quarters (78%) of respondents shared a favorable view of their park experience with timed-entry reservations. Most respondents agreed that managed access was an acceptable strategy at Rocky Mountain.

Specifically, limiting the number of cars was the most popular choice among the various strategies mentioned. This broad support was also noted in a 2022 USU study of Arches National Park visitors, where 84% of respondents reported they wanted a reservation system for future visits.

“This final visitation plan reflects an impressive amount of data and research, coupled with community and staff input that was continuously adapted and improved, before reaching this best possible strategy for the park’s future,” said Sidles.

Benefits of timed entry at Rocky Mountain National Park include:

• Reduced traffic during peak hours, which provides an improved, less stressful experience on roadways, parking lots, and trails.
  
• Animals have more room to roam, leading to fewer negative encounters with people.
  
• Park rangers can focus more on leading interpretive talks, helping visitors stay safe, and keeping facilities clean, and less on managing crowded parking lots and turning tourists around.
  
• Flexibility, with options for visitors to secure a timed-entry permit weeks in advance; the day before; or outside of required reservation hours.

“Our world is not the same as when our parks were first created, and 21st century park management must innovate to meet new challenges,” said Coppola. “We encourage park managers across the country to collaborate and share best practices that will shape park experiences and preserve these priceless places, for generations to come.”

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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.6 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.