Trail Ridge Road
The highest continuous paved road in the country, climbing to 12,183 feet between Estes Park and Grand Lake with eleven miles above treeline. Crews start plowing in mid-April and work from both ends until they meet near the Alpine Visitor Center. The park has kept dates since the road's first summer in 1932: the earliest opening was May 7, 2002; the latest, July 16, came in that half-finished first season, and no year since has waited past June 26, 1943.
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 12,183 feet — check Rocky Mountain NP's status page before you drive.
The record
Usually opens in the last week of May. A snowy spring pushes it into the first week of June.
Will it be open for your trip?
| If your dates start… | The road was already open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| May 15 | 4 of 95 years | 4% |
| June 1 | 72 of 95 years | 76% |
| June 15 | 91 of 95 years | 96% |
| July 1 | 94 of 95 years | 99% |
| July 15 | 94 of 95 years | 99% |
| August 1 | 95 of 95 years | 100% |
Odds come from the full record below — past springs, not a promise about this one.
When does Trail Ridge Road close?
Closes when winter settles in for good, most often in the second half of October. The park puts the average at October 23. The winter closure covers the high stretch between Many Parks Curve on the east side and the Colorado River Trailhead on the west.
| If you're driving on… | The road was still open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| October 1 | 94 of 94 years | 100% |
| November 8 | 17 of 94 years | 18% |
| November 15 | 8 of 94 years | 9% |
| November 22 | 3 of 94 years | 3% |
| December 1 | 1 of 94 years | 1% |
| December 8 | 0 of 94 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | May 29 | — | nps.gov | |
| 2025 | May 30 | November 14 | nps.gov | |
| 2024 | May 31 | October 25 | nps.gov | |
| 2023 | May 26 | October 18 | nps.gov | |
| 2022 | May 27 | October 24 | nps.gov | |
| 2021 | May 28 | October 25 | nps.gov | |
| 2020 | June 4 | November 17 | The west end stayed shut at the Grand Lake Entrance that fall because of East Troublesome Fire damage. | nps.gov |
| 2019 | June 5 | October 24 | Storm after storm in May piled up snow and drifts above 11,500 feet. | nps.gov |
| 2018 | May 24 | October 31 | nps.gov | |
| 2017 | May 31 | October 27 | A major snowstorm on May 18 and 19 left plow crews facing 8 to 14 feet of snow up high. | nps.gov |
| 2016 | May 28 | November 18 | nps.gov | |
| 2015 | May 29 | October 29 | nps.gov | |
| 2014 | May 23 | November 4 | The road went through at 10:15 a.m. on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, with night closures in place while the snowmelt refroze after dark. | nps.gov |
| 2013 | May 24 | October 22 | nps.gov | |
| 2012 | May 14 | October 17 | An early opening, nearly two weeks ahead of the usual date. | nps.gov |
| 2011 | June 6 | October 27 | The latest opening in almost forty years — crews met the most late-spring snow they had seen in three decades. | nps.gov |
| 2010 | May 28 | October 29 | nps.gov | |
| 2009 | May 21 | October 21 | nps.gov | |
| 2008 | May 23 | November 6 | — | |
| 2007 | May 25 | October 22 | — | |
| 2006 | May 24 | October 23 | — | |
| 2005 | May 21 | November 4 | — | |
| 2004 | May 20 | October 25 | — | |
| 2003 | May 23 | November 6 | — | |
| 2002 | May 7 | November 1 | The earliest opening on record, four days ahead of the old mark from 1963. | — |
| 2001 | May 25 | October 18 | — | |
| 2000 | May 23 | November 2 | — | |
| 1999 | May 28 | November 22 | — | |
| 1998 | May 29 | October 26 | — | |
| 1997 | May 28 | October 22 | — | |
| 1996 | May 31 | October 21 | — | |
| 1995 | May 27 | October 27 | — | |
| 1994 | June 4 | October 29 | — | |
| 1993 | May 29 | October 28 | — | |
| 1992 | May 30 | November 1 | — | |
| 1991 | May 25 | November 2 | — | |
| 1990 | May 28 | October 16 | — | |
| 1989 | May 27 | October 18 | — | |
| 1988 | May 28 | November 7 | — | |
| 1987 | May 16 | November 12 | — | |
| 1986 | May 24 | October 28 | — | |
| 1985 | May 24 | October 11 | — | |
| 1984 | May 26 | October 19 | — | |
| 1983 | June 5 | November 9 | — | |
| 1982 | May 28 | November 2 | — | |
| 1981 | May 23 | October 29 | — | |
| 1980 | May 29 | October 27 | — | |
| 1979 | May 27 | November 13 | — | |
| 1978 | June 2 | October 30 | — | |
| 1977 | May 13 | November 11 | — | |
| 1976 | May 18 | November 26 | The road stayed open into the last week of November. | — |
| 1975 | May 27 | October 31 | — | |
| 1974 | May 25 | October 30 | — | |
| 1973 | June 6 | November 2 | — | |
| 1972 | May 19 | October 27 | — | |
| 1971 | May 28 | October 20 | — | |
| 1970 | May 23 | October 16 | — | |
| 1969 | May 24 | October 21 | — | |
| 1968 | May 25 | November 6 | — | |
| 1967 | May 23 | November 3 | — | |
| 1966 | May 19 | November 10 | — | |
| 1965 | May 29 | November 17 | — | |
| 1964 | May 30 | November 13 | — | |
| 1963 | May 11 | October 30 | The earliest opening on record for the next thirty-nine years. | — |
| 1962 | May 30 | November 15 | — | |
| 1961 | May 23 | October 23 | — | |
| 1960 | May 28 | October 31 | — | |
| 1959 | May 28 | October 19 | — | |
| 1958 | May 30 | October 29 | — | |
| 1957 | June 7 | October 20 | — | |
| 1956 | May 30 | October 29 | — | |
| 1955 | June 2 | October 31 | — | |
| 1954 | May 29 | November 1 | — | |
| 1953 | May 30 | November 3 | — | |
| 1952 | May 30 | November 12 | — | |
| 1951 | June 2 | October 2 | — | |
| 1950 | June 3 | November 1 | — | |
| 1949 | June 8 | October 18 | — | |
| 1948 | June 4 | October 15 | — | |
| 1947 | June 5 | October 22 | — | |
| 1946 | May 29 | October 4 | — | |
| 1945 | June 15 | October 21 | — | |
| 1944 | June 22 | November 1 | — | |
| 1943 | June 26 | October 11 | The latest opening of any season since the road's first summer. | — |
| 1942 | June 13 | October 12 | — | |
| 1941 | May 30 | October 22 | — | |
| 1940 | May 30 | October 27 | — | |
| 1939 | May 30 | November 25 | — | |
| 1938 | June 4 | November 2 | The year the road reached Grand Lake. | — |
| 1937 | May 28 | October 18 | — | |
| 1936 | June 6 | October 12 | — | |
| 1935 | June 18 | October 20 | — | |
| 1934 | May 27 | November 18 | — | |
| 1933 | June 15 | December 2 | The latest closing on record. The road reopened December 11 as far as half a mile east of Rock Cut for the rest of the month. | — |
| 1932 | July 16 | October 25 | The first summer, when the road ran only as far as Fall River Pass. | — |
Record drawn from NPS: Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road opening and closing dates · NPS: History of Trail Ridge Road · NPS: Park Roads status · NPS news release: the 2014 opening, May 23 · NPS news release: the 2014 closing, November 4, which also lists the ten closing dates from 2004 to 2013 · NPS news release: the 2017 closing, October 27. Years with their own link were taken from that record. Last checked September 4, 2026.
The road itself
The federal roster lists it as Trail Ridge Road / Beaver Meadow Road.
The drive
-
Beaver Meadows Visitor Center 0 miles 7,840 ft
-
Many Parks Curve 8.3 miles 9,640 ft
-
Rainbow Curve 12.1 miles 10,829 ft
-
Forest Canyon Overlook 16.8 miles 11,716 ft
-
Rock Cut and the Tundra Communities Trailhead 18.8 miles 12,050 ft
-
Lava Cliffs 20.9 miles 12,000 ft
-
Alpine Visitor Center 23 miles 11,796 ft
-
Milner Pass and Poudre Lake 27.3 miles 10,758 ft
The road crosses the Continental Divide here.
-
Grand Lake Entrance 43.2 miles 8,715 ft
What's on the road
- Eleven miles of the drive run above treeline, higher than any other continuous paved road in the United States.
- The Alpine Visitor Center at 11,796 feet sits near the point where the plow crews working from each end meet in the spring.
- The park has kept opening and closing dates since the road's first summer in 1932 — the record below is that list.
Nearby: Old Fall River Road · Peak to Peak Scenic Byway · Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway
Trail Ridge Road is one of the roads on our scenic byway and seasonal road index — every road here, with its designation, length and winter in one table.
Where these facts come from
- NPS Rocky Mountain: distances and elevations inside the park
- NPS Rocky Mountain: Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road opening and closing dates
- FHWA: America's Byways, the designated roster
Last checked August 25, 2026.
Trail Ridge Road: opening and closing questions
- When does Trail Ridge Road close for the winter?
- Closes when winter settles in for good, most often in the second half of October. The park puts the average at October 23. Across the 94 closings on record the gate has gone shut around October 29 — as early as October 2 in 1951, as late as December 2 in 1933. The winter closure covers the high stretch between Many Parks Curve on the east side and the Colorado River Trailhead on the west.
- When did Trail Ridge Road close last?
- The most recent closing on the record is November 14, 2025. Every other season we can source is in the table on this page.
- Can you drive Trail Ridge Road in winter?
- No. The high stretch between Many Parks Curve on the east side and the Colorado River Trailhead on the west 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 Trail Ridge 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 May 28 to about October 29.
- When does Trail Ridge Road open again?
- Usually opens in the last week of May. A snowy spring pushes it into the first week of June. The median of the 95 openings on record is May 28; the earliest was May 7 in 2002 and the latest July 16 in 1932.