Rocky Mountain National Park

"RMNP" redirects here. For other uses, see RMNP (disambiguation).

Rocky Mountain National Park
View from Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park
Map showing the location of Rocky Mountain National Park
Map showing the location of Rocky Mountain National Park
Location in Colorado
Map showing the location of Rocky Mountain National Park
Map showing the location of Rocky Mountain National Park
Location in the United States
LocationLarimer / Grand / Boulder counties, Colorado, United States
Nearest cityEstes Park and Grand Lake, Colorado
Coordinates40°20′48″N 105°44′11″W / 40.3466°N 105.7364°W / 40.3466; -105.7364 (Rocky Mountain National Park)
Area265,461 acres (1,074.28 km2)[2]
EstablishedJanuary 26, 1915; 109 years ago (January 26, 1915)[3]
Visitors4,300,424 (in 2022)[4]
Governing bodyNational Park Service
WebsiteRocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park is a national park of the United States located approximately 55 mi (89 km) northwest of Denver[5] in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is situated between the towns of Estes Park to the east and Grand Lake to the west. The eastern and western slopes of the Continental Divide run directly through the center of the park with the headwaters of the Colorado River located in the park's northwestern region.[6] The main features of the park include mountains, alpine lakes and a wide variety of wildlife within various climates and environments, from wooded forests to mountain tundra.

The Rocky Mountain National Park Act was signed by President Woodrow Wilson on January 26, 1915, establishing the park boundaries and protecting the area for future generations.[3] The Civilian Conservation Corps built the main automobile route, Trail Ridge Road, in the 1930s.[3] In 1976, UNESCO designated the park as one of the first World Biosphere Reserves.[7] In 2023, 4.1 million recreational visitors entered the park.[8] The park is one of the most visited in the National Park System, ranking as the third most visited national park in 2015.[9] In 2019, the park saw record attendance yet again with 4,678,804 visitors, a 44% increase since 2012.[10]

The park has five visitor centers,[11] with park headquarters located at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center—a National Historic Landmark designed by the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin West.[12] National Forest lands surround the park on all sides, including Roosevelt National Forest to the north and east, Routt National Forest to the north and west, and Arapaho National Forest to the west and south, with the Indian Peaks Wilderness area located directly south of the park.[6]

  1. ^ Rocky Mountain in United States of America Archived 2019-07-24 at the Wayback Machine. protectedplanet.net. United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  2. ^ "The National Parks: Index 2009-2011" (PDF). nps.gov. National Park Service. p. 33. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "Brief Park History". nps.gov. National Park Service. n.d. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  4. ^ "Annual Park Ranking Report for Recreation Visits in: 2022". nps.gov. National Park Service.
  5. ^ "Rocky Mountain National Park Mileages and Elevations". nps.gov. National Park Service. n.d. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Rocky Mountain National Park Maps". nps.gov. National Park Service. n.d. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  7. ^ "Biosphere Reserve Information, United States of America, Rocky Mountain". unesco.org. UNESCO. August 17, 2000. Archived from the original on August 24, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  8. ^ "Top 10 most visited national parks". Travel. March 27, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  9. ^ "These Were the Most Visited National Parks in 2015". Time Magazine. February 17, 2016. Archived from the original on February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  10. ^ Meyer, John (February 14, 2019). "Rocky Mountain National Park sets another attendance record with 4.6 million visitors in 2019". The Denver Post. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  11. ^ "Rocky Mountain National Park Visitor Centers". National Park Service. n.d. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  12. ^ "Beaver Meadows Visitor Center Review | Rocky Mountain NP | Fodor's Travel Guides". Fodors.com. Retrieved June 4, 2013.