Estes Park Construction and Parking

Road Construction
There has been quite a bit of construction happening this winter around Estes Park, making access to Rocky Mountain National Park a little more challenging. The biggest project is "The Loop Project", which is aimed at improving the flow of traffic through town, allowing easier access to Rocky Mountain National Park. The main road through downtown will be one-way for traffic heading towards Rocky Mountain National Park. Traffic returning from the park will be re-routed past the Estes Park post office. These two roads will connect on the west side at a round-about near the big slide. This project has been in the works for over a decade, and the construction has been taking place for the past several months. Work on this project is expected to be completed sometime in the winter of 2024 or in early 2025. You can expect some delays while traveling through town this summer, though they are going to try and limit them. All stores and shops are open, despite the construction. Be sure and support them during this challenging time.

Keep up-to-date on The Loop Project at this link: https://www.downtownestesloop.com.

Just west of the Loop Project on highway 36, near "Dick's Rock Museum" there is also a second major project. This project aims strengthen an area where the road comes right alongside the Big Thompson River. Along this stretch of road, traffic has been reduced to one lane with traffic lights alternating directions every couple of minutes. This work is expected to continue throughout the summer.

With all of this construction, plan for an extra 5-10 minutes to get through Estes Park on your way to the Beaver Meadows Entrance. Beginning in early June, it will likely be faster to use highway 34 to enter Rocky Mountain National Park via the Fall River Entrance. However, until the end of May, construction is taking place on the Fall River Entrance Station.

You can learn more about other Estes Park construction projects at this link: https://estespark.colorado.gov....

Paid Parking
The Town of Estes Park will have a paid parking system in place for downtown again this year. From May 24 through October 20, you will be able to pay for parking at either the kiosks located around town or through the ParkMobile app. The cost is only $2 an hour. You can learn all the details at: https://estespark.colorado.gov...

Estes Park also has several free parking areas, including the parking garage located near the town visitor center. From there, you can easily walk to most of the stores and restaurants downtown, or ride the free shuttles that provide access to several areas of Estes Park.
View shuttle maps and schedules here: https://www.visitestespark.com...