A variety of construction projects could impact your visit to Rocky Mountain National Park this summer/Kurt Repanshek file

With summer officially right around the corner, here's an update on various construction projects at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado that could impact your travel.

Moraine Park Campground and Headquarters East Utility Rehabilitation Project

The Moraine Park Campground is expected to remain closed this summer/fall season due to construction delays. Production in the field did not match the anticipated schedule. The contractor is working to finish up the project while the weather is good by expediting the delivery of construction materials and increasing crew sizes and/or work hours. Much of the work for this project includes underground utility improvements that will allow for year-round use of the campground for the next several decades, increase the campground's accessibility, and move sites off of sensitive wetlands and create new sites. 

The scope and scale of this project is significant. This critical infrastructure project is improving the water, wastewater, and electrical distribution systems that serve Moraine Park Campground and many additional park facilities on the east side of the park. Although many of the utility improvements are underground and will never be seen, they are vital!  

Highlights of what this major project entails:

In the campground — replacing aging water distribution lines with new ones throughout the campground, rehabbing the failing sewer system, electrical upgrades including adding capacity for electric at 49 campsites, and burying overhead electric lines for fire safety, improving storm drainage to reduce sediment runoff and campsite flooding, rehabbing approximately two dozen individual campsites for either accessibility or removal from wetlands, installing bear boxes at each site, improving accessibility to comfort stations, dumpsters, utilities, and dump stations, ranger station and kiosk.

In areas outside of the campground — replacing and increasing size of water tanks at three different locations to better serve the housing and headquarters areas, meet fire codes, and replacing water distribution to allow for year-round housing that is located near the Beaver Meadows Entrance. Overall water improvements include a new water treatment plant that serves all of the park's headquarters area, housing area, campground, Beaver Meadows Entrance, and Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. This is the last of several phases of waterline replacements that have been completed over the past nine years.

Fall River Entrance Construction

The construction is ongoing and should be complete later this summer. There is currently one lane in through the Fall River Entrance with one kiosk and two windows operations when staffing allows. When the project is completed there will be three kiosks, a transponder lane and new lane configuration for improved traffic flow from the park's boundary.  

Grand Lake Entrance Construction

Construction has begun on the Grand Lake Entrance ranger station that was destroyed during the East Troublesome Fire in October of 2020. At least one lane entering the park and one lane exiting the park will be maintained during construction.

Replacement Housing Project on west side of park

Construction has begun on the housing complex on the west side of the park to replace housing that was destroyed during the East Troublesome Fire in October of 2020.  The project also includes the construction of new utility systems, replacement of a water well and associated infrastructure at the existing park housing area, and removal of destroyed utilities infrastructure.