Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado will have limited road access by vehicle but will remain accessible to pedestrians and bicycles during the lapse in federal appropriations. Due to road conditions from snowfall Saturday and blowing and drifting snow and ice combined with the inability to snowplow, sand, or otherwise maintain the roads, gates are closed past the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center on U.S. 36, past the Fall River Entrance on U.S. 34, past the Wild Basin Entrance on the Wild Basin Road and at the Grand Lake Entrance on U.S. 34.

Hours spent in a line waiting to enter a national park. Crews working to maintain trails that climb through piny forests and are blighted by piles of human waste. Visitors taking out their rage against fellow visitors and park staff when they can't find a parking spot at their favorite trailhead or overlook. These are some of the issues National Park Service staff are trying to solve as they cope with record visitation.

Efforts to find a hiker reported missing a week ago continue to prove fruitless for search-and-rescue teams at Rocky Mountain National Park, and the onset of wintry weather likely has turned the search into a recovery, not rescue, mission.

Rangers encountered deep snow and high winds Tuesday as they searched the Longs Peak area of Rocky Mountain National Park for a cadet candidate from the U.S. Air Force Academy who hasn't been heard from since late Friday. It marked at least the fourth time this year that a major search-and-rescue mission was called out to that part of the park.