Accessibility

While RMNP’s rugged terrain is full of steep trails and dramatic peaks, the park has worked hard to make its beauty accessible to everyone, no matter your mobility level. All the main visitor centers, Beaver Meadows, Fall River, Kawuneeche, and Alpine, are wheelchair-accessible.

The Beaver Meadows Visitor Center offers accessible parking spaces, curb cut outs, accessible flush toilets, and a lift between floors. The park film that regularly plays in the theater is captioned for hearing impaired and features audio descriptions for the visually impaired. An induction loop receiver is provided in the auditorium for the benefit of hearing aid users. The Beaver Meadows Visitor Center also provides official Park brochures in Braille and large-print versions.

The Fall River Visitor Center offers accessible parking spaces, a wheelchair-accessible entrance, and curb cut outs. There are accessible flush toilets located in the adjacent store via a covered walkway. Along the same lines, the Alpine Visitor Center offers accessible parking spaces, curb cut outs, accessible vault toilets, and accessible flush toilets throughout the summer season, on the east side of the Visitor Center. Last but not least, the Kawuneeche Visitor Center offers accessible parking spaces, curb cut outs, and accessible flush toilets. The park film that regularly plays in the theater is captioned for hearing impaired.

RMNP also operates free accessible shuttle buses in the Bear Lake Corridor that provide access to many popular destinations. All park shuttle buses are accessible with wheelchair lifts and tie downs.

Several scenic overlooks on Trail Ridge Road (like Rainbow Curve) have accessible viewing platforms, so you can still take in those high-altitude views without hitting the trail.

Speaking of trails, the park features some flat, wheelchair-friendly routes:

Sprague Lake Trail: Half-mile-long trail on Bear Lake Road, one mile west of the Park and Ride shuttle bus parking lot.

Lily Lake Trail: Mile-long trail six miles south of the town of Estes Park on Highway 7.

Coyote Valley Trail (west side): A one-mile trail, on the west side of the park, five miles north of the Kawuneeche Visitor Center.

Bear Lake: 0.6-mile loop Located at the end of Bear Lake Road, eleven miles from the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. The trail is not entirely flat and is a more challenging route.

Holzwarth Historic Site Access Road: 1 mile round trip walk, 8 miles north of Kawuneeche Visitor Center on Highway 34.

These trails are great for visitors with limited mobility, and they offer real moments of connection with nature. And the best part, no steep climbs are required.

The park also has a program that provides an all-terrain wheelchair available by reservation. The rugged three-wheeled manual wheelchair is built for uneven trails and snowy paths. That said, once you leave the improved paths, most trails are not ADA-accessible, this is mountain wilderness after all.

Some campgrounds and picnic areas also have accessible sites; picnic tables with extended tops etc. Along those same lines, service animals are welcome in RMNP (though pets in general aren't allowed on trails).

For visitors with visual or hearing impairments, there are braille and large-print versions of the RMNP brochure at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. Additionally, a certified sign language interpreter can be provided with a month's advance notice to accompany a ranger during a ranger-guided program. To request an ASL interpreter, please call (970) 586-1206.

In the end, while the park can’t flatten mountains or tame wild trails, it has made sure that everyone can touch a piece of its magic. When visiting, please keep in mind that the high elevation in RMNP can make things harder for anyone with heart or breathing issues, so it’s important to go slow, stay hydrated, and listen to your body.