Entrance Reservations for Rocky Mountain National Park 2024 | How to Get One!

Rocky Mountain National Park is requiring entrance reservations in 2024, so let's discuss what you need for your upcoming vacation.
Rocky Mountain National Park is requiring timed entry reservations from May 24th to October 20th. You'll need one of these entrance reservations to enter any part of Rocky, including the side roads!
In this video, I'll walk you through everything you need to know to get your entrance reservations for Rocky Mountain National Park. You can even watch the live process as I book a reservation in real-time using Recreation.gov.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Rocky Mountain National Park Timed Entry Reservations
01:06 About Timed Entry Reservations
02:36 Two Reservation Types
02:43 Timed Entry Reservation
04:06 Timed Entry Plus Reservation - Bear Lake
06:24 The Parking Issue
06:50 Rocky Mountain Itinerary
07:31 When You Don’t Need a Reservation
07:42 Entering the Park Outside of the Reservation Window
08:00 Camping Within the Park
10:10 The Hiker Shuttle
10:37 Reservation Walk-Through
19:21 Last-Minute Reservations
In Video Links:
⭐️ Rocky Mountain National Park Timed Entry Reservations: www.recreation.gov/timed-entr...
⭐️ Rocky Mountain National Park Timed Entry: www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisi...
⭐️ Rocky Mountain National Park NPS: www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm
⭐️ Rocky Mountain National Park Itinerary: www.dirtinmyshoes.com/rocky-m...
My goal is to make national park trip planning easy!
⭐️ Rocky Mountain Ultimate Trip Planning Guide: www.dirtinmyshoes.com/rocky-m...
⭐️ Rocky Mountain Camping: www.dirtinmyshoes.com/all-abo...
⭐️ 12 Things You Can't Miss in Rocky Mountain:
www.dirtinmyshoes.com/12-thin...
Connect with Ash at Dirt In My Shoes
KZbin: @DirtInMyShoes
Podcast: www.dirtinmyshoes.com/podcast
Website: www.dirtinmyshoes.com
Instagram: / dirtinmyshoes
Facebook: / dirtinmyshoes

[@cristy_yang]

Thank you so much for this video, it helped me secure my reservations this morning. 😊

[@DirtInMyShoes]

I'm so happy to hear that!

[@marykasselb]

Thanks for this! I know you said sometimes while trying to get a certain reservation it says something like “sorry, unable to process this reservation due to high demand,” and we also saw this during your process. At what point would you give up and try for another time slot or would you just keep attempting till you get the time slot you want? I’ll be doing this process on July 1st. :)

[@DirtInMyShoes]

I just keep trying over and over and over. Trying to get a different time slot won't make a difference if the site is overloaded with too many requests, so I just keep going til I get it or until the site refreshes with the correct numbers and shows that what I want is no longer available. Good luck!

[@DianaLopez-nt7qb]

We are going to the Rocky Mountain for Memorial Day , didn’t know about reservations till I saw your video;rushed to the web site and was able to get the last spot between 2-4 pm . Any suggestions about what can be done at that time? I’m more interested about beatiful places we can take pictures. Greetings

[@DirtInMyShoes]

You'll find a ton of activity options for Rocky on my website: www.dirtinmyshoes.com/rocky-mountain-national-park/

[@user-dn2mc1yj6e]

Hello thee! So... I really like your videos, watched them on an other acc ^^ I've got a question to ask. You know sooo much about the Rocky Mountains National Park! I wanted to write a short story which is supposed to take place in the Rockys. Here are my questions: - Are there currently wild wolves in the park? - Are there canada lynx in the park? - Is it possible, that thee is a small lake/big pond where the water has a pleasant temperature? Maybe because of a hot spring or smth? This place won't be in the park but outside. Maybe near Estes Park? I'd appreciate an answer & apologize for my bad english xD Greetings :)

[@user-dn2mc1yj6e]

there*

[@DirtInMyShoes]

My expertise is more geared toward the trip planning process/avoiding the crowds, so I'm probably not the right person to ask about the more obscure animals in the park. I would contact the park for that or dig into the park's website -- they usually have a list of what you can find!

[@chrisp7652]

FYI, Arches now requires a timed entry. They turned away this 63yo man from Florida who had no idea.

[@DirtInMyShoes]

I'm sorry to hear that. I do have a video about the Arches Reservations here on my channel!

[@chrisp7652]

@@DirtInMyShoes Thanks but I am in WY now. I guess I watched older versions of KZbin videos from several people that were pre reservation so I had no clue and, the fact is, they should have let the one guy in that they turned around. It was disheartening to say the least. It is a lasting memory though knowing I would have single handedly ruined the whole day for everyone if I were let in! LOL Thanks for reaching out. I really enjoy your videos! Chris

[@sarahkrajewskiwebb91]

If we go before 9am to see a sunrise or for an early hike, do we have to leave after 9am or can we stay for the day w/o a reservation?

[@DirtInMyShoes]

You can stay for the day!

[@AbrahamDean-y3g]

We are trying to get a reservation for 4 ppl at East Inlet and Lake Verna trail, for July 19th. It shows zeros on the calendar, does this mean there are no spots for a reservation?

[@DirtInMyShoes]

It means that those reservations have already been released and now you will need to wait until the last-minute reservations open up!

[@sharondavis1872]

If you take a shuttle do you still need a timed entry pass?

[@DirtInMyShoes]

To use the Rocky shuttle in the Bear Lake area, yes. To use the Hiker Shuttle from Estes, you'll need a reservation but not the timed entry pass.

[@lavs23]

Do they release more throughout the month or is it on the day released and then the day before? When they opened for June the 6-8am passes were gone within the hour and the next slot after were gone within 15 minutes for bear lake.

[@DirtInMyShoes]

They only release once per month, and when they're gone, they're gone until the night before when they release the last-minute ones.