Taking advantage of warm autumn weather and newly rebuilt roads, more than 3.4 million people spent time at Rocky Mountain National Park in 2014. That’s the highest number of annual visitors since 2000.
Park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said pent-up demand following the September 2013 floods could be a factor.
"It was very difficult to access Rocky Mountain National Park from the east side last fall – in 2013 – because of the floodand the severely damaged roads," said Patterson.
Gov. John Hickenlooper prioritized repairing U.S. Hwy 34 between Loveland and Estes Park, and Hwy 36 between Estes Park and Lyons. Crews were able to get both reopened by Dec. 1, 2013 – though not until after the prime fall tourist season.
Several of the park’s most popular trails and routes, including Old Fall River Road, sustained heavy damage and have not yet reopened, but that doesn’t appear to have curtailed visitation, Patterson said.
Fall visits to Rocky Mountain National Park have been trending up for a number of years. That – along with several weeks of mild weather – helped push visitor numbers for 2014 to their highest-ever level, Patterson said.
"It truly was a glorious fall. The fall colors were incredible, the weather was really good. And Trail Ridge Road stayed open pretty late," she said. "We know there were a lot of people that were coming to get that last drive on Trail Ridge before it was put to bed for the winter."
RMNP is typically the sixth-most visited National Park. Other parks in the West, including Yellowstone, also saw higher numbers of visitors in 2014.
Monday is the park's official 100th birthday. President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation establishing Rocky Mountain National Park on Jan. 26, 1915.
The park is holding a year-long Centennial Anniversarycelebration until Sept. 2015, with a number of special events in the park and in surrounding communities.
