You won't be able to drive to Mount Blue Sky's summit in 2025. Reservations for 2024 trips open soon

Reservations will open soon for people who want to drive to the top of Mount Blue Sky in Colorado this summer. The seasonal roadway up to the top of the newly-renamed fourteener will not open until after Memorial Day weekend this year, it will only stay open through early September, and it will be closed for all of 2025.

Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway is the name of the road -- the highest paved road in America -- and it also has the state name Highway 5. It is 14 miles long and takes visitors from Echo Lake into the Mount Blue Sky Recreation Area. The drive includes a view of neighboring mountains including Rogers Peak and Mount Warren, passes into the Mount Goliath Natural Area, then winds up to Summit Lake Park and finally to the summit, where mountain goats can often be seen. Ever since 2021, only drivers who have reservations are allowed past the Echo Lake area.

Due to construction, officials from the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests said on Thursday that the road will not be open at all in 2025. The project will actually get started in September, so this year's car or bike trips to the top of the mountain will only be allowed through Sept. 3. Hiking to the top of the mountain on various trails will still be permitted.

As far as why the road won't open until May 31 this year, Clear Creek District Ranger Patsy McEntee said in a prepared statement that the recreation area "requires a full team to manage, from operating the welcome station to cleaning the restrooms at the summit."

"With Memorial Day occurring earlier in May this year, increasing the potential for weather impacts, and to align with seasonal employee start dates, we've decided to delay the traditional opening by a week," McEntee said.

The reservation system will open on May 21 at 8 a.m. Reservations can be made on recreation.gov and can only be made 30 days out from the date of your visit. Visits by car to the popular recreation area are only allowed between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. 

The construction project has been ordered to fix damaged roadway and "restore the natural hydraulic processes through the area."

Mount Blue Sky is the 14th tallest fourteener in Colorado. Last year the mountain's name was stripped of its reference to Colorado territorial governor John Evans and the Native American tribe-approved name of Mount Blue Sky was adopted. Evans's name was removed because he gave authorization to the Sand Creek Massacre.