Old Fall River Road
The park's original road over the divide — nine and a half miles of one-way gravel switchbacks from Endovalley up to Fall River Pass, opened to cars in 1921 and made one-way in 1932. It opens weeks after Trail Ridge most summers and closes first in the fall, so its season is short by design. The park keeps its dates in the same table as Trail Ridge, though it says it has no good long-term record of opening dates before 1985.
This year
Live plow-season reports load here. For today's conditions, go straight to Rocky Mountain NP's status page.
Conditions change by the hour at 11,796 feet — check Rocky Mountain NP's status page before you drive.
The record
Usually opens around the Fourth of July, five or six weeks after Trail Ridge Road.
Will it be open for your trip?
| If your dates start… | The road was already open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| June 15 | 10 of 41 years | 24% |
| July 1 | 23 of 41 years | 56% |
| July 15 | 40 of 41 years | 98% |
| August 1 | 41 of 41 years | 100% |
Odds come from the full record below — past springs, not a promise about this one.
When does Old Fall River Road close?
Closes to vehicles in the first half of October, sooner when an early storm settles in. The winter closure covers the one-way climb from Endovalley to Fall River Pass.
| If you're driving on… | The road was still open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| September 22 | 43 of 43 years | 100% |
| November 8 | 4 of 43 years | 9% |
| November 15 | 3 of 43 years | 7% |
| November 22 | 2 of 43 years | 5% |
| December 1 | 1 of 43 years | 2% |
| December 8 | 0 of 43 years | 0% |
Closing dates come from the same record as the openings — the year-by-year table below. Past autumns, not a promise about this one: a single storm can end the season a fortnight early.
Every year on record
| Year | Opened | Closed | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | July 4 | — | nps.gov | |
| 2024 | June 30 | October 8 | nps.gov | |
| 2020 | — | October 5 | The Cameron Peak Fire shut the road on September 5; it reopened September 30 and ran to the end of the season. | nps.gov |
| 2015 | July 2 | — | Reopened at a ribbon-cutting after two seasons of repairs to flood damage. | nps.gov |
| 2014 | — | — | Did not open — the road was still shut to vehicles for repairs after the September 2013 flood. | nps.gov |
| 2012 | June 15 | — | A thin snow year opened the road more than two weeks ahead of the usual Fourth of July. | nps.gov |
| 2009 | — | October 8 | The opening cell is blank on the park's table for this season; October 8 is the only date it gives the road that year. | — |
| 2008 | July 4 | October 20 | — | |
| 2007 | June 30 | October 10 | — | |
| 2006 | July 1 | September 26 | — | |
| 2005 | July 2 | October 13 | — | |
| 2004 | July 4 | October 15 | The park's table notes the road was not open to vehicles after September 30. | — |
| 2003 | July 4 | November 5 | The park's table notes the road was not open to vehicles after October 31. | — |
| 2002 | July 4 | October 28 | — | |
| 2001 | June 30 | October 18 | — | |
| 2000 | June 30 | October 19 | — | |
| 1999 | July 2 | October 18 | — | |
| 1998 | July 3 | October 6 | — | |
| 1997 | July 4 | October 15 | — | |
| 1996 | July 4 | September 25 | — | |
| 1995 | July 29 | October 4 | The latest opening in the park's table. | — |
| 1994 | June 25 | October 12 | — | |
| 1993 | July 3 | October 10 | — | |
| 1992 | July 3 | October 8 | — | |
| 1991 | July 3 | October 20 | — | |
| 1990 | June 29 | October 12 | — | |
| 1989 | June 30 | October 18 | — | |
| 1988 | July 2 | October 15 | — | |
| 1987 | July 3 | November 5 | — | |
| 1986 | July 4 | October 24 | — | |
| 1985 | June 29 | — | The park's table gives two possible closing dates for this season, September 8 and October 11. | — |
| 1984 | — | October 9 | — | |
| 1939 | — | December 1 | — | |
| 1938 | — | November 2 | — | |
| 1937 | — | October 18 | — | |
| 1936 | — | — | The park's table gives the closing only as October 12 to 18. | — |
| 1935 | June 6 | October 20 | — | |
| 1934 | June 18 | November 20 | — | |
| 1933 | — | December 2 | The park's table gives two possible opening dates for this season, May 27 and July 16. | — |
| 1932 | — | October 25 | One-way uphill travel began this season, the summer Trail Ridge Road opened as far as Fall River Pass. | — |
| 1931 | June 14 | November 9 | — | |
| 1930 | June 7 | October 14 | — | |
| 1929 | June 15 | — | The park's table gives the closing as October 28 or 29. | — |
| 1928 | June 15 | October 17 | — | |
| 1927 | June 15 | October 1 | — | |
| 1926 | June 15 | October 4 | — | |
| 1925 | June 13 | October 11 | — | |
| 1924 | June 18 | October 2 | — | |
| 1923 | June 20 | October 9 | — | |
| 1922 | June 15 | October 29 | — | |
| 1921 | June 27 | — | The first season the road carried cars all the way to Fall River Pass. | — |
Record drawn from NPS: Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road opening and closing dates · NPS: Old Fall River Road · NPS news release: 2024 seasonal closure, October 8 · NPS: Park roads status. Years with their own link were taken from that record. Last checked September 5, 2026.
Old Fall River Road: opening and closing questions
- When does Old Fall River Road close for the winter?
- Closes to vehicles in the first half of October, sooner when an early storm settles in. Across the 43 closings on record the gate has gone shut around October 15 — as early as September 25 in 1996, as late as December 2 in 1933. The winter closure covers the one-way climb from Endovalley to Fall River Pass.
- When did Old Fall River Road close last?
- The most recent closing on the record is October 8, 2024. Every other season we can source is in the table on this page.
- Can you drive Old Fall River Road in winter?
- No. The one-way climb from Endovalley to Fall River Pass is gated once the season ends, and it stays shut until spring plowing gets through. Rocky Mountain NP posts the gate's current state.
- Is Old Fall River Road open right now?
- This page is the season record, not the road's condition this morning. National Park Service — Rocky Mountain National Park publishes today's state of the road, and that is the one to check before you drive — conditions turn over in hours at this elevation. For planning: the usual season runs from about June 30 to about October 15.
- When does Old Fall River Road open again?
- Usually opens around the Fourth of July, five or six weeks after Trail Ridge Road. The median of the 41 openings on record is June 30; the earliest was June 6 in 1935 and the latest July 29 in 1995.