RMNP officials believe that August snows slowed park visits
By John Cordsen of the Estes Park Trail Gazette
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
As if gas prices weren’t enough, weather continued to hamper Rocky Mountain National Park visitors. August snowstorms seriously curtailed both motorists and hikers alike.
“An unusual snowstorm occurred in the Park on Aug. 15-16 and as a result, Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road were closed off and on until Aug. 18,” said Park spokesperson Kyle Patterson.
“Also due to the storm, the Keyhole Route on Longs Peak was under technical conditions until August 27.”
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The North Face of Longs Peak covered with a foot of new snow on Aug. 16th, 2008.
The economic conditions and weather were leading factors in fewer people visiting the Park in August. Park visits were off just over four percent from a year ago.
In August 2008, a total of 562,814 visitors were counted as compared to 586,719 a year ago. For the year, visits are off 6.84 percent as more than 155,000 fewer visits have been counted so far this year.
The total number of visits through August were listed at 2,113,586. Through August 2007, this number stood at 2,268,839.
The August scenario was similar to what happened in May and June as late season snow in the high country closed Trail Ridge Road several times. Trail Ridge Road, which officially opened May 23 in the teeth of a biting snowstorm, was closed several times, including the afternoon of its opening day.
(Eli wonders: We almost always get snow in the high country of RMNP during the months of May, June, and August- so maybe it's just the economy?)
