Here’s how Rocky Mountain National Park’s timed entry system will work in 2025

ESTES PARK, Colo. — Rocky Mountain National Park on Thursday announced the dates and times that timed entry permits will be required to visit next year. 

The timed entry reservation system will be in effect for visits starting May 23, 2025. Like previous years, there will be two types of reservations available:

• One permit will be for the Bear Lake Road Corridor, which includes the entire corridor, as well as access to the rest of the park. This reservation period will be from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The Bear Lake Road Corridor timed entry reservation system will end for the season on Oct. 20.
• The second permit will be for the rest of the park, excluding the Bear Lake Road corridor. This “rest of park” reservation period will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. The rest of the park reservation system will end for the season on Oct. 14.

Timed entry permits are required to enter the park during those times. People entering the park outside those times do not need a timed entry permit. Once you’re in the park, you can stay as long as you’d like. 

There is a $2 recreation.gov processing fee for each timed entry permit reservation. An entrance fee or valid park pass is also required to enter the park. 

Timed entry reservations will be available according to the following schedule: 

• Beginning at 8 a.m. MT on May 1, reservations will be available to enter the park from May 24 through June 30.   
• The next release will occur on June 1, for July and any remaining days that have not been booked for June.   
• On July 1, reservations will be available for August and any remaining days that have not been booked for July.   
• On Aug. 1, reservations will be available for September and any remaining days in August that have not been booked.
• On Sept. 1, reservations will be available for October and any remaining days in September that have not been booked.  

The park will release 60% of reservations according to this schedule. The other 40% of reservations available for each day will be released at 7 p.m. the night before. 

Rocky Mountain National Park was the fifth-most-visited national park in the U.S. in 2023, with more than 4.1 million visits, according to NPS data. The park first implemented a timed entry system in summer 2020 as part of a pilot program to address crowding, congestion and impacts on park resources. The system was made permanent as part of a Day Use Visitor Access Plan finalized in May 2024.