Colorado's busiest outdoor spots now run on reservations. In summer and early fall you need a timed-entry permit to drive into Rocky Mountain National Park during the day, a shuttle seat or parking slot for the Maroon Bells, and a per-person permit for Hanging Lake. On top of those you pay ordinary entrance fees: a national park pass for federal sites and a separate pass for Colorado state parks. Book the scarce permits first, then sort out the passes.
Rocky Mountain National Park timed entry
Rocky Mountain is the permit most visitors run into. In 2026 the park ran two versions, both booked on Recreation.gov (online or in the app) and never sold at the entrance stations:
- Timed Entry covers everything except Bear Lake Road: Trail Ridge Road, the Alpine Visitor Center, the west side, Wild Basin, Lily Lake, Longs Peak and Lumpy Ridge. It applied from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, May 22 to October 12, 2026.
- Timed Entry+ Bear Lake Road adds the Bear Lake Road corridor (Moraine Park, Sprague Lake, Glacier Gorge, Bear Lake). It applied from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, May 22 to October 18, 2026.
Each reservation is a two-hour arrival window. Once you're in, you can stay all day. Reservations opened on the first of each month at 8 a.m. Mountain Time for the following month's dates. Another batch went on sale at 7 p.m. the evening before each day, and those tend to go within minutes. The reservation costs a non-refundable $2 processing fee. It is not an entrance pass, so you still pay the park fee or show a pass. The holder has to be in the car with photo ID.
The easiest workaround is timing. Arrive before 9 a.m. (before 5 a.m. for Bear Lake Road) or after 2 p.m. (after 6 p.m. for Bear Lake Road) and you need no reservation. Guests at Aspenglen, Glacier Basin and Moraine Park campgrounds have entry included. So do wilderness overnight permit holders, horseback-ride bookings and cyclists. The park's hiker shuttle needs its own reservation.
The park hasn't published 2027 dates yet. Check nps.gov/romo in spring before you plan around the same pattern.
Entrance fees and the America the Beautiful pass
Rocky Mountain charges $30 for a one-day vehicle pass, $35 for seven days and $70 for an annual pass to this park alone. The America the Beautiful pass covers entrance fees at every national park and most other federal recreation sites for a year. It costs $80 for US citizens and residents and $250 for non-residents. Seniors 62 and over who are US citizens or residents pay $20 a year or $80 for life. If you'll visit more than two federal sites in a year, the pass pays for itself.
International visitors should know about a change that took effect in 2026. At 11 of the busiest national parks, Rocky Mountain among them, non-residents aged 16 and over pay an extra $100 per person on top of the entrance fee. Holding an annual pass, including the $250 non-resident America the Beautiful pass, removes that surcharge. For a family of non-resident adults, the $250 pass is usually the cheaper route. Fee-free days are now limited to US citizens and residents. Colorado's other three national parks (Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes and Black Canyon of the Gunnison) are not on the surcharge list.
Maroon Bells
The view of the twin peaks above Maroon Lake near Aspen is reservation-only for the main season. In 2026 Maroon Creek Road was closed to inbound private vehicles from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., May 22 to October 18. During those hours you get in on the RFTA shuttle. A round trip cost $16 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under and seniors 65 and over. Driving in outside those hours needs a $10 parking reservation, which applied from May 15 to October 31. Both are booked at visitmaroonbells.com. Fall foliage weekends sell out first. If you can't get a slot, an early-morning drive-in with a parking reservation is often the better experience anyway.
Hanging Lake
This small travertine lake in Glenwood Canyon, off I-70, needs a timed permit year-round, winter included. The permit costs $12 per person, includes trailhead parking and gives a three-hour hiking window. You should arrive within 30 minutes of your slot. There is no shuttle. Rideshares and taxis can't drop you at the trailhead, and vehicles longer than 25 feet aren't allowed. The trail is 1.2 miles each way with about 1,200 feet of climbing on rocky steps. Dogs aren't allowed, apart from trained service animals. Swimming, wading and touching the water are banned. Book through Visit Glenwood Springs (visitglenwood.com/hanginglake).
Brainard Lake and the Indian Peaks
West of Boulder, Brainard Lake Recreation Area requires a timed-entry ticket for anyone arriving by car or motorcycle during its summer season. In 2026 that season ran June 12 to October 1. Tickets are sold only on Recreation.gov. The lower Gateway Trailhead stays open year-round without a reservation, so you can walk or ski in from there.
If you're backpacking in the neighboring Indian Peaks Wilderness, you need an overnight permit for each backcountry zone you camp in between June 1 and September 15. Groups are capped at 12 people, pack animals included. Permits go on sale on Recreation.gov the first Tuesday in March, with a smaller batch released three days ahead. Bear canisters are required near all trailheads.
Colorado state parks
State parks have their own passes, and federal passes don't count there. A daily vehicle pass costs $4 to $17 depending on the park and is valid until noon the next day. Cars with out-of-state plates pay more than Colorado plates: at Cherry Creek near Denver, for example, it's $15–17 versus $10–12. Walking or cycling in costs $4 per person.
For more than a few visits, the Annual Affixed Vehicle Pass costs $80 and is sold to residents and non-residents alike. The Keep Colorado Wild Pass ($29) is for Colorado residents only. It's added when you register a vehicle with the DMV and can't be bought at a park. It covers state park entry only, not camping, fishing or hunting.
Fishing and hunting licenses
Anyone 16 or older needs a Colorado fishing license. The annual license year runs from March 1 to March 31 of the following year. Anglers aged 18 to 64 also need a habitat stamp. Short-term licenses suit visitors who'll only fish a day or two. Buy online through Colorado Parks and Wildlife (cpwshop.com) and check the total at checkout, because fees change each license year. Hunting is more involved. Most big-game licenses are allocated through CPW's annual draw, so a hunting trip needs planning months ahead, not a stop at the counter.
A planning order that works
- Pick your dates, then check which reservations open when: Rocky Mountain on the first of the prior month, Indian Peaks in early March, and the rest on their own sites.
- Book the permits with hard caps first (Rocky Mountain, Maroon Bells, Hanging Lake).
- Buy an America the Beautiful pass if you'll visit two or more national park units. Non-residents heading to Rocky Mountain should nearly always buy one.
- Add a state parks pass only if you'll spend several days at state parks.
- Keep screenshots of every confirmation, because cell coverage at trailheads is unreliable.
