Please note the weather dictates the road status for Trail Ridge Road and it may close at anytime. Call 970-586-1222 before you drive.
Billed as the park’s “highway to the sky,” Trail Ridge Road climbs some 4,000 feet in a matter of minutes and offers some of the park’s most spectacular sightseeing. Trail Ridge Road spans from the east entrance of the park, across 48 miles of the park’s beautiful Rocky Mountain landscapes, to the park’s west entrance in Grand Lake. Much more than just a highway that connects the park from east to west, Trail Ridge Road is an experience in itself.
Constructed in 1931, the road was designed to intrude as little as possible into the natural mountain landscapes, which affords visitors a unique way to experience the park from the comfort of their cars. Some of the park’s most thrilling views are seen right along Trail Ridge Road. Vast meadows of mountain wildflowers are brilliantly blooming during summer months. Bighorn sheep, elk, and other wildlife can also often be seen.
Trail Ridge Road meanders through the park’s lush alpine forests, and eventually climbs above treeline to elevations over 12,000 feet! The road is peppered with pullover points that allow travelers to stop and enjoy expansive Rocky Mountain vistas, with views as far as Wyoming to the north; the Front Range and plains to east; and the heart of the Rockies to the west.
