Rocky Mountain National Park Closes To Visitors
ESTES PARK, Colo. (CBS4) - Rocky Mountain National Park is closed to all visitors until further notice. Officials made the announcement Friday night at the request of the local health department.
The mayor of Estes Park, Todd Jirsa, asked the Secretary of the Interior to close Rocky Mountain National Park to support public health during the coronavirus pandemic. He noted current promotions from the Department of Interior are driving visitors to the park and surrounding communities.
Rocky Mountain National Park released the following statement to CBS4:
"The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners at Rocky Mountain National Park is our number one priority. The National Park Service (NPS) is working with the federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. We will notify the public when we resume full operations and provide updates on our website and social media channels."
On Tuesday, park visitor centers including Beaver Meadows, Fall River and Kawuneeche were closed until further notice, according to the national park. The park, however, remained open.
"The Larimer County Public Health Director has formally advised us to encourage visitors to not travel through Larimer County to Estes Park," Jirsa stated. "Estes Park is not in a position to support the potential needs of extra guests at this time."
The county announced its first positive case of coronavirus earlier this month. Jirsa also noted the majority of residents are in a "susceptible" age group.
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