Trail Ridge Road in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park reopens after snow and ice-related closure

Trail Ridge Road, the popular 48-mile stretch of highway through Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado's mountains, reopened after a closure Sunday morning due to snow and ice, park officials said.

It was the first closure of the year after opening in the spring and was just temporary until the yearly seasonal closure. The road closed at Rainbow Curve on the east side and Milner Pass on the west side.

The road closes for the season every fall for snow and ice and typically reopens on or around Memorial Day. This year, it reopened for the season on May 30.

A spokesman for the park said there was no estimated date yet for a full seasonal closure this year.

Photos from the Alpine Visitor Center webcam at 11,796 feet showed heavy snow on the ground and considerable cloud coverage, obscuring visibility in the area.

At its peak, Trail Ridge Road reaches about 12,180 feet, making it the highest continuous paved road in North America, and it connects the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake.

Rocky Mountain National Park was the fifth-most visited national park in the U.S. in 2024, with over 4.1 million visitors that year. Only Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Zion, the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone saw more visitors.