Trail Ridge Road Closed For Memorial Day

Unfortunately, Trail Ridge Road wont be open for the Memorial Day weekend this year. The NPS crews have been working their hardest to get the road open, but snow and lots of wind the past two weeks have made it difficult to make progress on portions above timberline. I hiked up the road this morning and this was sunrise below the Ute Trail. While we have less snowpack this year, the wind with last weeks stormed moved lots of snow back onto Trail Ridge Road. Technical Details: Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-70mm F4 IS S lens

It’s official. The National Park Service just posted that they wont be able to open Trail Ridge Road in time for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The past couple of weeks we have had a combination of snow and very high winds and according to the National Park Service (NPS), the road crews plowing Trail Ridge Road have been hampered by the snow and mostly the very high winds that continue to push back any progress they have made in the last few weeks.

The NPS road crews in Rocky Mountain National Park do an amazing job working to get Trail Ridge Road open for the season. They have been plowing since April. We’ve had a below average snowpack this year but we have had very strong wind storms much of the spring, combined often with snow and blowing snow.

By last week, I was starting to get the feeling that Trail Ridge Road might not be open for the season as there was very little chatter about it opening early and people who had hiked up the road reported the plowing operations were just past the Rock Cut. Other signs that we may be behind schedule was the fact that the Alpine Visitor Center webcam had not be moved from its winter location as of yet. When they move the web camera, you know they have dug out parts of the AVC and have the generator running up there to power it all day long as opposed to 3 times a day via a solar panel in the winter. The web cam at the AVC did show blown snow behind it one day so I believe the Grand Lake crew has at least reached the parking at one point in the past two weeks.

Trail Ridge Road wont be open for the Memorial Day weekend this year but it was not for lack of trying. One of the Rotary snowplows the NPS uses to plow Trail Ridge Road rests overnight near the Ute Trail. The glinted light of sunrise illuminates the Kodiak Rotary plows blades this morning helping to highlight the battle scars and bruises the equipment takes getting Trail Ridge Road open each season. Technical Details: Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-70mm F4 IS S lens
So now that Trail Ridge Road wont be open this weekend, what would be some good alternatives to keep busy. One could be to make the longer drive over Berthoud Pass to Grand Lake. Grand Lake will be beautiful this weekend and with Trail Ridge Road closed, it will be a lot more quiet than Estes Park. Another alternative would be to visit and hike the lower portions of Wild Basin. There will still be a lot of snow in the higher elevations, but the lower elevations of Wild Basin should be less crowded than say the main areas of Rocky and mostly snow free down low. Lastly, areas like Lumpy Ridge right in town would be a good choice as they wont require long drives and although the parking lots are small, they tend to get less visitors than main areas of the park.

As an aside, Bear Lake Road now has timed entry in effect so if you are planning on heading into the Bear Lake area after 5:00 AM and 5:00 PM you will need to have an timed entry permit. With Trail Ridge Road closed, and if you dont have a timed entry permit, it would probably be a good idea to avoid the Bear Lake area unless you have already purchased a timed entry purchase. Regardless, there will be plenty to do and see and Rocky is rounding into spring form making for some great opportunities for photographers.