Mount Blue Sky in Colorado will close to travel for the season and all of next year on Sept. 3
Mount Blue Sky will close for the season and all of next year on Sept. 3. Reservations for the next few days are required for those who plan to park and visit the Mount Goliath Area, Summit Lake Park or the Mount Blue Sky Summit.
The seasonal roadway up to the top of the newly-renamed fourteener typically opens for the season after Memorial Day weekend and stays open through early September. The roadway will be closed to all motorized and non-motorized travel (foot, bike, etc.) for all of 2025 due to road construction near Summit Lake. The closure will span from the CDOT gate on Colo. Highway 5 through the project area, above Summit Lake.
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.
Reservations can be made on recreation.gov up to 30 days out from the date of your visit. Visits by car to the popular recreation area are allowed between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
There are several trails and recreational areas throughout Mount Evans Wilderness, which surrounds Mount Blue Sky, that will remain open for recreation during the construction project. Popular destinations and alternative trails in the area include Echo Lake Park, Echo Lake Campground, Chicago Lakes Trail, Captain Mountain Trail, Chief Mountain Trail, Resthouse Meadows Trail, and Bierstadt Trailhead. According to the USDA, motorized and mechanized (bike) travel is prohibited in designated wilderness areas.
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.
