Transponders designed to make it easier to enter Rocky Mountain National Park are now for sale/NPS

Frequent visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park, or park travelers with an annual pass who might be heading to Rocky, can purchase a gate transponder for getting through the entrance stations quickly.

Transponder lanes at the entrance stations are intended to reduce queuing and congestion. They can be purchased on Sundays at the park's Beaver Meadows Visitor Center between the hours of 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. These devices are available to interested annual and lifetime passholders, including RMNP, America the Beautiful, Senior, Military, Veterans, Access and Fourth grade passes. For individuals who purchased a transponder from February to June 2024, transponder renewals will also available.   

Visitors who choose to purchase this optional transponder device will be able to enter Rocky Mountain using the transponder lane at Beaver Meadows and Fall River Entrances. A new transponder lane will be available on the west side of the park at the Grand Lake Entrance later this year. The previous transponder lane at Grand Lake Entrance was destroyed in the 2020 East Troublesome Fire.  

A transponder is a small, credit card-sized device that must be attached to a vehicle’s windshield. The amenity fee for those interested in this voluntary transponder is $15. One transponder may be purchased per valid annual or lifetime pass and the transponder is valid for up to one year. For those who are renewing transponders purchased between February to June 2024, the $5 renewal rate will be waived. Renewals must be done in person. All future transponder renewals will be $5 after the initial purchase.    

Transponders must be attached to the inside, top-right corner (passenger side) of a vehicle’s windshield and are non-removable, non-transferable, and non-refundable.  When using a transponder in the park, visitors must have their passes with them as well.    

In 2004, Rocky Mountain National Park constructed a fast pass lane at the Beaver Meadows Entrance and in 2011, an additional fast pass lane was installed at the Grand Lake Entrance. Rocky Mountain National Park was one of the only national parks with fast pass lanes for visitors. Visitors who purchased an annual park pass or lifetime pass were able to use their pass to operate the automated gate.

However, in 2019, the National Park Service modified the format of annual and lifetime passes. The new national passes were not compatible with the park’s gate system technology. As a result, the fast pass gate was not operational for the last few years. To address this challenge, RMNP transitioned to windshield transponders for interested annual and lifetime passholders to access a new transponder lane during the times of day when timed entry is not in effect.