Trail ridge road open for 2019 drivers#

Snowdrifts of 20 feet or more are common on Trail Ridge, and this has been an above-average year for snowfall, complicating the process. Crews from the west side of the park and crews from the east side of the park move along the road and eventually meet at the Alpine Visitor Center. where lightning is most common: Trail Ridge Road is a popular. National Park Service plow operators began clearing the snow in the middle of April. 7 miles east-southeast of Arlee on the ridge south of Our coverage area includes much of.

Trail ridge road open for 2019 drivers#

It takes drivers between the Estes Park side of the park and the Grand Lake side, crossing the Continental Divide at Milner Pass on the west side. Trail Ridge Road officially closed for the season last year on October 25. Trail Ridge is a popular tourist destination, the highest continuous paved road in the U.S., with a high point of 12,183 feet above sea level. Park officials said it is too early to say whether the road will be open for vehicular traffic in time for Memorial Day. Snowplow crews working to clear Trail Ridge Road reached the Alpine Center and Trail Ridge Store at an elevation of 11,796 feet on Wednesday. Memorial Day is only 10 days away, but there’s still tons of snow high in Rocky Mountain National Park and significant snowfall is forecast there for this weekend and early next week. Photo provided by Rocky Mountain National Park.The back of the Trail Ridge Store in Rocky Mountain National Park, elevation 11,796 feet, as seen on Wednesday. In 2011, the road opened on June 6.Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu The earliest the road has opened was on the latest June 26, 1943. Park plow operators normally encounter drifts from 18 to 22 feet and are accustomed to plowing the same section of road over and over. Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States – reaching 12,183 feet in elevation.Ĭrews from the west side of the park and crews from the east side of the park move along the road and eventually meet near the Alpine Visitor Center. The drifting snow is depicted with the photos of Alpine Visitor Center and Trail Ridge Store.Įvery year, Rocky Mountain National Park snowplow operators begin plowing Trail Ridge Road in mid-April. Snowplow operators experienced a lot of drifting snow on the east side, which indicates there was a lot of high winds over the course of the winter. When plow operators began plowing in mid-April they reported that the snowpack conditions were average to below average. The extended forecast for higher elevations is improving next week. It is too soon to predict when Trail Ridge Road will open for the season. Photographs are of conditions on May 28 through May 30 along the road as well as the Alpine Visitor Center and Trail Ridge Store complex.

They initially reached the Alpine Visitor Center complex on May 15 – soon afterwards multiple spring snow storms pushed plow efforts back to lower elevations on Trail Ridge Road. East side plow operators were again able to reach the Alpine Visitor Center and Trail Ridge Store area. When Trail Ridge Road is closed, the only way to access Grand Lake is from Interstate 70 to U.S. Rocky Mountain National Park snowplow operators from the east side and west sides of the park met on Trail Ridge Road May 29, for the first time this year.