UPDATE | March 10 8:45 a.m. — After delaying the rollout of wilderness camping permits at Rocky Mountain National Park from March 1 to the following week, the national park said Wednesday morning that the reservation system — Pay.gov — is again experiencing technical difficulties due to the volume of visitors trying to make a July reservation. The system will not take any reservations today and will reinitiate the rollout at another time.
More information on this will be provided later this week, park officials said.
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Rocky Mountain National Park has something for everybody and if camping in its wilderness sounds ideal, you can secure a permit starting next Monday.
The permits aren't available at Wilderness Offices due to current public health guidance, but were expected to become available online beginning Monday at 8 a.m. However, the reservation system Pay.gov crashed and the company is working to resolve the issue. RMNP said they plan to restart the rollout next Monday, March 8, at 8 a.m.
"The wilderness backcountry camping permit reservation system for Rocky Mountain National Park is experiencing technical difficulties. To better serve park visitors, we continue to work with Pay.gov to ensure a smooth payment experience for the online wilderness backcountry camping permit reservation system," park officials said in a statement late Monday afternoon, after saying earlier in the day they hoped to have the system back up and running by Tuesday morning.
There is a $30 Wilderness Administrative Fee for each trip reservation from May 1 through Oct. 31, not including the entry fee into the park.
Click here to make a reservation for wilderness camping in RMNP and to learn more about camping in the park. Reservations cannot be made via mail, phone or fax machine. For questions, call the Wilderness Office at 970-586-1242.
A permit is required for all overnight travel in the park.
Starting March 16, those interested in securing a permit can stop by The Kawuneeche Visitor Center (north of Grand Lake on Highway 34) or the The Beaver Meadows Visitor Center Wilderness Office (west of Estes Park on Highway 36) to pick up the permit in person.
RMNP has designated wilderness sites, which can be found on its website here. A silver metal arrowhead marks each site. Fires are prohibited unless the permit allows for it and the site as a metal fire ring.
If you're winter camping, check out RMNP's information page on winter wilderness camping here. If you plan to camp in the warmer months, keep in mind that all food and garbage must be secured inside a hard-sided bear-resistant container any time between April 1 and October 31. Other forms of food storage aren't permitted during that time frame.
Click here for more tips on planning your wilderness camping trip in RMNP.
RMNP also offers campgrounds for both tent camping and RV camping.