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Rocky Mountain National Park · seasonal road

Trail Ridge Road: when it opens, year by year

Last verified Official record 1932–2009NPS page updated February 24, 2015
U.S. Highway 34 inside Rocky Mountain National Park; the highest continuous paved road in the United States, climbs to 12,183 feet and connects the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake Typically opens: Last week in May, weather permitting (historically opens in late May). Closes: Mid-October (normally closes in mid-October); the table's average winter closure date is October 23.
2026 opening
May 29
opened
Median opening
May 30
78 years
Earliest opening
May 7
2002
Latest opening
Jul 16
1932
Median closing
Oct 30
77 years

The official record

78 years of Trail Ridge Road

Each dot is a date from the park’s (or WSDOT’s) published table: gold opening, brick closing. Missing dots are years the table leaves blank.
MayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec19401950196019701980199020001932: opened Jul 181932: closed Oct 271933: opened Jun 161933: closed Dec 31934: opened May 281934: closed Nov 191935: opened Jun 191935: closed Oct 211936: opened Jun 81936: closed Oct 141937: opened May 291937: closed Oct 191938: opened Jun 51938: closed Nov 31939: opened May 311939: closed Nov 261940: opened Jun 11940: closed Oct 291941: opened May 311941: closed Oct 231942: opened Jun 141942: closed Oct 131943: opened Jun 271943: closed Oct 121944: opened Jun 241944: closed Nov 31945: opened Jun 161945: closed Oct 221946: opened May 301946: closed Oct 51947: opened Jun 61947: closed Oct 231948: opened Jun 61948: closed Oct 171949: opened Jun 91949: closed Oct 191950: opened Jun 41950: closed Nov 21951: opened Jun 31951: closed Oct 31952: opened Jun 11952: closed Nov 141953: opened May 311953: closed Nov 41954: opened May 301954: closed Nov 21955: opened Jun 31955: closed Nov 11956: opened Jun 11956: closed Oct 311957: opened Jun 81957: closed Oct 211958: opened May 311958: closed Oct 301959: opened May 291959: closed Oct 201960: opened May 301960: closed Nov 21961: opened May 241961: closed Oct 241962: opened May 311962: closed Nov 161963: opened May 121963: closed Oct 311964: opened Jun 11964: closed Nov 151965: opened May 301965: closed Nov 181966: opened May 201966: closed Nov 111967: opened May 241967: closed Nov 41968: opened May 271968: closed Nov 81969: opened May 251969: closed Oct 221970: opened May 241970: closed Oct 171971: opened May 291971: closed Oct 211972: opened May 211972: closed Oct 291973: opened Jun 71973: closed Nov 31974: opened May 261974: closed Oct 311975: opened May 281975: closed Nov 11976: opened May 201976: closed Nov 281977: opened May 141977: closed Nov 121978: opened Jun 31978: closed Oct 311979: opened May 281979: closed Nov 141980: opened May 311980: closed Oct 291981: opened May 241981: closed Oct 301982: opened May 291982: closed Nov 31983: opened Jun 61983: closed Nov 101984: opened May 281984: closed Oct 211985: opened May 251985: closed Oct 121986: opened May 251986: closed Oct 291987: opened May 171987: closed Nov 131988: opened May 301988: closed Nov 91989: opened May 281989: closed Oct 191990: opened May 291990: closed Oct 171991: opened May 261991: closed Nov 31992: opened Jun 11992: closed Nov 31993: opened May 301993: closed Oct 291994: opened Jun 51994: closed Oct 301995: opened May 281995: closed Oct 281996: opened Jun 21996: closed Oct 231997: opened May 291997: closed Oct 231998: opened May 301998: closed Oct 271999: opened May 291999: closed Nov 232000: opened May 252000: closed Nov 42001: opened May 262001: closed Oct 192002: opened May 82002: closed Nov 22003: opened May 242003: closed Nov 72004: opened May 222004: closed Oct 272005: opened May 222005: closed Nov 52006: opened May 252006: closed Oct 242007: opened May 262007: closed Oct 232008: opened May 252008: closed Nov 82009: opened May 22

1930s

Jun 11

average opening · 8 yrs

1940s

Jun 10

average opening · 10 yrs

1950s

Jun 2

average opening · 10 yrs

1960s

May 26

average opening · 10 yrs

1970s

May 26

average opening · 10 yrs

1980s

May 27

average opening · 10 yrs

1990s

May 30

average opening · 10 yrs

2000s

May 23

average opening · 10 yrs

Show the full table ↓
YearOpenedClosedSeason (days)
2009May 21——
2008May 23Nov 6167
2007May 25Oct 22150
2006May 24Oct 23152
2005May 21Nov 4167
2004May 20Oct 25158
2003May 23Nov 6167
2002May 7Nov 1178
2001May 25Oct 18146
2000May 23Nov 2163
1999May 28Nov 22178
1998May 29Oct 26150
1997May 28Oct 22147
1996May 31Oct 21143
1995May 27Oct 27153
1994Jun 4Oct 29147
1993May 29Oct 28152
1992May 30Nov 1155
1991May 25Nov 2161
1990May 28Oct 16141
1989May 27Oct 18144
1988May 28Nov 7163
1987May 16Nov 12180
1986May 24Oct 28157
1985May 24Oct 11140
1984May 26Oct 19146
1983Jun 5Nov 9157
1982May 28Nov 2158
1981May 23Oct 29159
1980May 29Oct 27151
1979May 27Nov 13170
1978Jun 2Oct 30150
1977May 13Nov 11182
1976May 18Nov 26192
1975May 27Oct 31157
1974May 25Oct 30158
1973Jun 6Nov 2149
1972May 19Oct 27161
1971May 28Oct 20145
1970May 23Oct 16146
1969May 24Oct 21150
1968May 25Nov 6165
1967May 23Nov 3164
1966May 19Nov 10175
1965May 29Nov 17172
1964May 30Nov 13167
1963May 11Oct 30172
1962May 30Nov 15169
1961May 23Oct 23153
1960May 28Oct 31156
1959May 28Oct 19144
1958May 30Oct 29152
1957Jun 7Oct 20135
1956May 30Oct 29152
1955Jun 2Oct 31151
1954May 29Nov 1156
1953May 30Nov 3157
1952May 30Nov 12166
1951Jun 2Oct 2122
1950Jun 3Nov 1151
1949Jun 8Oct 18132
1948Jun 4Oct 15133
1947Jun 5Oct 22139
1946May 29Oct 4128
1945Jun 15Oct 21128
1944Jun 22Nov 1132
1943Jun 26Oct 11107
1942Jun 13Oct 12121
1941May 30Oct 22145
1940May 30Oct 27150
1939May 30Nov 25179
1938Jun 4Nov 2151
1937May 28Oct 18143
1936Jun 6Oct 12128
1935Jun 18Oct 20124
1934May 27Nov 18175
1933Jun 15Dec 2170
1932Jul 16Oct 25101

Table source: www.nps.gov/romo/learn/photosmultimedia/opening_closing_trr_ofr.htm

In the park's words

What Rocky Mountain says about Trail Ridge Road

“Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States, climbs to 12,183 feet and connects the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake.” source
“Trail Ridge Road normally closes in mid-October and opens to thru travel during the last week in May, weather permitting.” source
“Trail Ridge Road historically opens in late May; last year the road opened on May 30.” source
“The average winter closure date of Trail Ridge Road has been October 23.” source
“News Release Date: May 29, 2026” source
“Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park is open for the season .” source

Worth knowing

  • History table: NPS 'Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road Opening and Closing Dates', compiled from Superintendent's Annual Reports and Roads Office data, last updated February 24, 2015; it ends at 2009 (2010-2024 are not published in this capture). Trail Ridge Road columns start in 1932; the 1921-1931 rows on the page are Old Fall River Road data (the Trail Ridge cells are empty). In 2009 the Trail Ridge closing cell is empty (the 'October 8' that follows it in the page text is the Old Fall River closing), so closed is null for 2009.
  • Parenthetical dates in the closing column (notReopenedAfter) follow the table's own header: 'dates in parentheses = not opened after that date'.
  • Cross-check against the 2026 news release ('The earliest the road has opened was on May 7, 2002; the latest June 26, 1943'): the earliest agrees with the table (2002 May 7), but the table also lists a LATER opening - 1932 July 16, the road's first season - than the release's 'latest' (1943 June 26).
  • Recent seasons (not in the table): 2025 opened Friday, May 30 and closed to through travel Friday, November 14, 2025 (NPS releases) - the park's own page says it 'normally closes in mid-October'. 2026 opened May 29 per the release dated that day.

About this page

Dates are the park’s and WSDOT’s own, captured on 2026-10-05 and re-checked at every build. Medians and extremes are arithmetic on the published rows; we do not forecast. Weather closes passes without notice, so check live alerts for Rocky Mountain before you drive. Other seasonal roads in the park: Old Fall River Road.

Sources · 2

  1. 1.Rocky Mountain National Park — Trail Ridge Road (official page) · National Park Service
  2. 2.Seasonal road pages and historical opening-date tables on nps.gov and wsdot.wa.gov, read and quoted · National Park Service; Washington State DOT

FAQ

Trail Ridge Road questions

When does Trail Ridge Road open?
Rocky Mountain says: Last week in May, weather permitting (historically opens in late May). Across 78 recorded years the median opening is May 30, ranging from May 7 (2002) to Jul 16 (1932). In 2026 it opened May 29, 2026.
When does Trail Ridge Road close for the season?
Rocky Mountain says: Mid-October (normally closes in mid-October); the table's average winter closure date is October 23. In the official record the median closing is Oct 30 (77 years), earliest Oct 2 in 1951. Closing dates depend on the first lasting snow and are rarely announced ahead.
Is Trail Ridge Road opening later than it used to?
The 1930s averaged an opening around Jun 11; the 2000s average is May 23 — about 19 days earlier. That is the arithmetic of the official table, not a forecast; snowpack, staffing and construction all move the date.
Is Trail Ridge Road open right now?
Check the park's road-status page (linked under Sources) or its alerts: our “Is Rocky Mountain open?” page shows the live NPS alerts.

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