Rocky Mountain National Park Announces Closures To Protect Raptor

It's officially that time of year: Colorado's favorite birds of prey are nesting, and our park officials want to make sure they're as protected as possible.

In order to protect raptor nesting sites, RMNP officials said in a press release that temporary closures in the Loch Vale area, Checkerboard Rock, Lightning Rock, Batman Rock, Batman Pinnacle, Sundance, Thunder Buttress, The Parish, The Book, and Twin Owls, and Rock One will all be closed.

The National Park Service also wants patrons to know that it's important, especially while climbing, to listen for warning signs that you're approaching a nesting site: territorial behaviors should be your cue to, quite literally, "take a hike".

Find out more exact closure spots on the National Park Service's website right here.

The National Parks Service has announced that masks are now a requirement for employees, visitors, partners, and contractors.

This requirement follows an executive order mandating masks on federal land signed by President Biden.

Popular areas, narrow trails, and other areas that have a denser population of visitors is where you will most likely be using a mask at Rocky Mountain National Park.

Last summer, Rocky Mountain National Park instituted a time reservation system to protect visitors from the pandemic. That system ended in October and park officials recently said they plan to stay away from that in the 2021 summer.

Rocky Mountain National Park did see a downtick in annual visitors in 2020 but typically averages more than 4 million each year.