You'll need a reservation to drive to the Bear Lake Road in Rocky Mountain National Park/Kurt Repanshek file
The use of timed-entry reservations to enter Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado during the busiest months of the year has been made permanent by park officials.
Under the plan, two reservation systems will be used from late-May through mid-October. One will focus specifically on the popular Bear Lake Road Corridor, and the other will apply to the rest of the park. This is similar to what the park has piloted the last three summers and is the current operational plan for this summer. The reservation systems have been successful at spreading visitor use out throughout the day and throughout the park, according to park officials.
If you plan to drive the Bear Lake Road to visit places such as Alberta Falls (top photo), you'll need a reservation to head up the road between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m. For the rest of the park, reservations are required between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The ability to be flexible and adapt the timed entry reservation systems to changing use patterns is a key element of the Day Use Visitor Access Plan, a park release said. Park staff will continue to learn from this year’s pilot and adapt accordingly when considering future purchase lead times and reservation windows from year to year.
Approval of the Day Use Visitor Access Plan is the culmination of extensive planning, public engagement, and managed access pilots that began in 2016. The Day Use Visitor Access Plan, Environmental Assessment, Finding of No Significant Impact, and other reference documents are available at this website.
Rocky Mountain isn't the only park that requires reservations to enter during peak hours this summer. Others include Arches, Glacier, Mount Rainier, and Yosemite.
Comments
This corporate takeover of the NPS had nothing to do with the so called planning they claim. This is and has been a takeover from the day it was implemented and no input from the public was given any concern.
Pretty sad that politics, greed, and corporate influence have stolen our federal lands from us- the people
Agree 100% with Chris. Just another way for rec.gov to make another buck at the expense of the public. Our parks, but we have to pay for access not once, but twice.
I am reminded of the quote that "A nation divided against itself cannot stand"
Its hard to see how the takeover of the NPS entry/reservation system for profit is not a nation divided against itself.
You have some of the people with a corporate stake in this getting massive profits off the rest of the nation who has been subjucated to digital slavery in the form of these new policies.
Not only do you need to have a smartphone/computer, but you also must increasingly use a digital form of payment that will incure interest fees along with other fees. And in order to get these payment apps, or credit cards you need access to a bank account which increasinlgly also require you use their internet app system to avoid recuring payments.
This is all part of the 30 by 30 plan of the WEF. Their idea is the people will own nothing and be happy. Every hike, bike, swim, climb, view, road will be rented out to the people. Want to see a waterfall? Pay me.. Want to see glow bugs? pay me.... Want to hike half dome? Pay me.... want to drive your vehicle in the park? pay me.. Want to park said vehicle? pay me...
Not good
I don't know if this is being done to make rec.gov more money, maybe it is. Maybe it's just laziness. Carlsbad Caverns has severely limited the number of visitors since the pandemic began, and they have kept Slaughter Canyon Cave closed since then. This was all done without asking the public for comment. Be mindfull of the FBI mantra: Big cases, big problems. Little cases, little problems. No cases, no problems.