This Rocky Mountain National Park Road Will Close to Vehicles This Week

The closure will start on Tuesday.

By Alison Fox Alison Fox

Alison Fox is a Travel + Leisure contributor. She has also written for Parents.com, The Wall Street Journal, and amNewYork. When she’s not in New York City, she can be found at the beach or on the slopes. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Published on October 7, 2024

Close Old Fall River Road, the first road to be in Rocky Mountain National Park . Photo:

Courtesy of NPS

Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park will close the Old Fall River Road to vehicles this week.

The road will close for the season to vehicles starting on Oct. 8 and temporarily close to all uses for road maintenance through Oct. 10, according to the National Park Service. The road will then reopen for bicycles, walkers, and leashed pets from Oct. 11 to Oct. 14 before closing once again for continued maintenance through Oct. 18.

Cyclists and leashed pets will once again be able to travel on Old Fall River Road through Nov. 30 before it reverts to trail status on Dec. 1.

Old Fall River Road opened in 1920 as the first auto route in Rocky Mountain National Park, according to the NPS. The road is primarily made of gravel and includes switchbacks and a speed limit of just 15 mph. The road takes travelers from Horseshoe Park to Fall River Pass 11,796 feet above sea level.

“In the minds of many park visitors, the relatively subtle old route remains foremost,” the NPS wrote. “Unlike Trail Ridge Road, which is well known for being the highest continuous paved road in the nation, the Old Fall River Road is a much more ‘motor nature trail.’”

While the Old Fall River Road will close to vehicles for the season, there is still plenty to do in Rocky Mountain National Park during the winter. Travelers can go snowshoeing, marvel at frozen waterfalls, go sledding, cross-country skiing, and look for wildlife like the snowshoe hare, white-tailed ptarmigan, coyote, elk, and mule deer.

Rocky Mountain National Park is also not the only national park to close roads for winter. Yellowstone National Park, for example, closes several roads to prepare for colder temperatures and bad weather; and Glacier National Park closes parts of its popular 50-mile Going-to-the-Sun Road during the winter and spring.