Will be in Denver for a concert in early October.

Hoping to check out RMNP on Sunday 10/6. Is that a reasonable plan from downtown Denver? Anything we need to reserve? Is early October likely to be hiking weather still?

Very doable. Should be fall color and a vast number of day hikes to choose from. You will have to have a timed entry permit along with a NationalParkPass to enter….visit the RMNP website for info.

Beginning of Oct is actually really busy time of year there....hiking will be great but also the Elk will be in rut so that brings in folks.

As mentioned above, entry passes are in effect until mid-Oct. so read up on the rules for that.....there are ways to enjoy the park without them but it's good to know them so you can.l plan accordingly

How far in advance do you need to book park entry passes? Crazy you have to do that now. Is this even from the west side (I guess that doesn't matter)?

Looking at camping in grand lake next summer.

For optimal entry times, the minute the reservation window opens.

All the info is on their website

If you're wanting to do a 8-12 mile hike in the Bear Lake corredor, I feel like you need to have a pass for 8am or earlier to be back below treeline in time to avoid the afternoon summer storms. If you're just wanting to toodle around, it's not nearly as big of a deal.

I hate that they exist but its a necessary evil as park can't physically handle the volume of people. There aren't enough parking spots, the two lane roads would just be jam packed, and the most popular trails would be completely overrun....it would be unenjoyable for anyone.

It does also push people to explore other areas of the park which, frankly, are just as beautiful.

Why does it push people to other parts of the park if park entrance is restricted? Or are these passes for certain areas and parking lots of the parks?

This certainly helps

40 percent of available timed entry reservations are released on Recreation.gov the night before a chosen arrival date. These will be available beginning at 7 p.m. MDT.

I imagine a lot of old timers have been caught off guard by this.

And doesn't look like you need one at all if you're there before 9am?

There are two categories of passes.

- Bear Lake Corridor - needed between 5am-6pm
- Rest of the Park - needed between 9am-2pm

With a Bear Lake Corridor pass you can enter any area of the national park. The other pass gets you into anywhere except Bear Lake.

The combination between fewer Bear Lake Corridor passes and the shorter pass required window for the rest of the park is what pushed people to other regions more, spreading out the congestion.

This is the 5th year of the entrance passes so hopefully it is surprising fewer and fewer people as time goes on

The Bear Lake passes go VERY quickly the night before (within a couple minutes)

AgRyan04 said:

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There are two categories of passes.

- Bear Lake Corridor - needed between 5am-6pm
- Rest of the Park - needed between 9am-2pm

With a Bear Lake Corridor pass you can enter any area of the national park. The other pass gets you into anywhere except Bear Lake.

The combination between fewer Bear Lake Corridor passes and the shorter pass required window for the rest of the park is what pushed people to other regions more, spreading out the congestion.

This is the 5th year of the entrance passes so hopefully it is surprising fewer and fewer people as time goes on

The Bear Lake passes go VERY quickly the night before (within a couple minutes)

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does the park open at 5am? That would make sense on the bear lake ones.

For the other sides, sounds like you just need to get your butt up there before 9. Which, if you're staying close by shouldn't be a problem.

This, which makes sense, mitigates the Denver "wake up in the morning and drive up" traffic.

They sell out ALOT. I've had several groups show up thinking they would be available and get turned away.

Park is open 24 hours....it just means you need be IN the park before the permit required times.....and rheee will be a line so don't roll up at 8:55 thinking you'll get in at 9....I would be in line by 8:20-8:30 at the latest

This thread is timely as we will be in the area Wednesday and planning to visit RMNP Thursday. Wasn't part of our original trip plans but will check what time entry passes are available Wednesday night.

Awesome. Please report back.

I may be confused, but I feel like I am getting mixed information. I see a lot of things and posters on here are also saying that passes become available 7 PM the day before, but then I also found something on the park website with certain dates that passes become available for different date ranges.

bam02 said:

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Awesome. Please report back.

I may be confused, but I feel like I am getting mixed information. I see a lot of things and posters on here are also saying that passes become available 7 PM the day before, but then I also found something on the park website with certain dates that passes become available for different date ranges.

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there's a mix of both.

Roughly 60% are sold in advance and the remaining 40% are offered the day before at 7pm.

The presale ones are a month in advance. From what I saw, July1-July31st went on sale May 1st. June went on sale April 1st.

Once those sell out, the daily pass pool is released at 7pm the night before.

Outside of the special pass for Bear Lake/Creek road, as long as you're in the park before 9am or after 2pm, you can get in without the pass.

None of these passes guarantee anything (parking, traffic levels, etc.). It's merely a way to mitigate the rush of traffic from 9-2.

What I'm not sure of is... if you show up at 3pm, can you be turned away because there are "too many cars in the park". Not sure they're tracking the ins and outs (like a night club for example).

I have a reminder on my calendar to try to get a pass ahead of time on September 1 when they become available for our October date.

So if you don't have a pass and you show up at say 8:30 AM, is there a chance you get stuck in a line of people trying to get in and don't make it in before nine therefore not getting in at all that day?

bam02 said:

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I have a reminder on my calendar to try to get a pass ahead of time on September 1 when they become available for our October date.

So if you don't have a pass and you show up at say 8:30 AM, is there a chance you get stuck in a line of people trying to get in and don't make it in before nine therefore not getting in at all that day?

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double check as I'm also a newb here.

I think October 1-31 would actually go on sale August 1st.

On your other point, read above. That can certainly happen depending on traffic. I imagine a Saturday will be more problematic than say... a Tuesday. But yes, if you're not in by 9, then you'll need a pass so I would err on the side of caution and get there earlier.

EDIT - schedule below:
Release Date Reservation Dates
May 1 at 8 a.m. MDT May 24 - June 30
June 1 at 8 a.m. MDT July 1 - July 31
July 1 at 8 a.m. MDT August 1 - August 31
August 1 at 8 a.m. MDT September 1 - September 30
September 1 at 8 a.m. MDT October 1 - October 20

Thank you I will double check

ChoppinDs40 said:

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What I'm not sure of is... if you show up at 3pm, can you be turned away because there are "too many cars in the park". Not sure they're tracking the ins and outs (like a night club for example).

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In my experience they do not

bam02 said:

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I have a reminder on my calendar to try to get a pass ahead of time on September 1 when they become available for our October date.

So if you don't have a pass and you show up at say 8:30 AM, is there a chance you get stuck in a line of people trying to get in and don't make it in before nine therefore not getting in at all that day?

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If you are not in by 9am, then you wouldn't be able to get in until 2pm

We got in line at 8:34a a couple weeks ago and got to the booth at 8:59a and got in. I don't know how lienient they are on that 9am as a hard stop point, it probably varies by ranger.

Park Ranger leniency… Lol. That's a good one!

I should also point out that the timed entry pass costs a $2 handling fee...it is needed in addition to your normal park entrance fee (something like $30 for a week...or whatever it is now)

OK, thanks. I appreciate the information.

We went in June this year. Most gorgeous place I have ever been to.

I got the park entrance pass on May 1. No problem there. But when we got to Estes Park, after we talked to a park ranger and some locals about the park, we decided to take the hiker's shuttle into RMNP rather than driving in ourselves. We did the Bear Lake corridor with stops at Sprague Lake and then Bear Lake, and hiked up to Alberta Falls from Bear Lake. The hiker's shuttle was only available the night before starting at 7 local time.

I will just say that the Recreation.gov app is dog crap. It froze right as I clicked purchase. Rebooted, and it repeated this process several times, giving me differing numbers of spots available - and not in a linear progression downward. I had given up and decided we would drive in when my wife was able to get that app to work. The shuttle was a great way to get into the park. It freed me from driving, looking for a parking spot, and let me just take in the scenery.

The hiker's shuttle was only available the night before starting at 7 local time.
[/quote said:

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Can you explain more about this?

You mean you have to book the day before?

bam02 said:

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The hiker's shuttle was only available the night before starting at 7 local time.
[/quote said:

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Can you explain more about this?

You mean you have to book the day before?

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Yes, you have to book the night before your planned trip to the park. Tickets go on sale at 7PM. They don't sell the tickets in person; only through that app. You pick a departure time. Tickets are $2.

Coming in from Denver (maybe a little more than an hour's drive?), you would park at the Estes Park Visitor's Center to get on the shuttle. You have to have both the shuttle ticket and the park entry pass.

https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10088647

I was able to buy a 4-6PM pass yesterday at 11:30 PM CT for today and there was 45 available at that time. We didn't get into Estes Park until 7:20 PM MT or so. Still made the drive to RMNP and got to Bear Lake about 8 PM. It was a great experience! Ready to go back to the park tomorrow. Bought a pass for tomorrow at 7:37 PM and there were 51 passes still available for the 4-6PM window.

Just to add. I checked availability again just now and it doesn't show any options for tomorrow. Just my thoughts and advice is you should be able to get one but don't want too late after 7 PM MT to check for the next day.

Friday's and weekends book up far faster than weekdays.

Given not many people want to enter after 4pm (few hours of daylight, risking rain, etc.), best bet is to just get there ass early before 9 if you can't get a reasonable time for the pass.

Sunset in October is around 6:20pm. Just a heads up for the op. Also, At that time of year, you may hit the color change perfectly or you may be mud/slush hiking. That's prime shoulder season.