Hiker Shuttle service to Rocky Mountain National Park from Estes Park will resume Memorial Day weekend following a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.<\/p>\n
Shuttles will operate through Oct. 10 from the Estes Park Visitor Center, dropping off passengers at a transit hub in the park where they can transfer to secondary shuttles serving Bear Lake and Moraine Park. There is a multi-level parking garage at the Visitor Center.<\/p>\n
The Hiker Shuttle began operation in 2006, serving more than 45,000 visitors in the last year before the pandemic. This year, for the first time, all passengers must have a reservation and a park entrance pass in order to board the shuttle. In 2017-19, wait times for the shuttle often ran from one to two hours. Shuttle reservations available through recreation.gov will cost $2 and are good for a party of up to four passengers.<\/p>\n
The park entrance fee for individual shuttle riders who don’t have annual or lifetime passes will be $15 and will be sold on recreation.gov. Families would pay $30 for the group. They will go on sale on May 26 at 5 p.m. for May 27.<\/p>\n
Shuttles will run from Estes Park in 45-minute intervals from 9 a.m. through 2:15 p.m. Return shuttles will run in 45-minute intervals from 9:45 a.m. through 5:15 p.m. Reservations will not become available until 5 p.m. the day before the visit in order to discourage no-shows, according to the park’s public affairs officer, Kyle Patterson.<\/p>\n