CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. — The road that takes visitors up one of Colorado's most popular 14ers will be closed for all of 2025 due to construction.
According to a release from the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, improvements to a section of Mount Blue Sky (formerly Mount Evans) Scenic Byway will impact visitors in 2024 and 2025. Construction will begin in late July or early August of 2024, with a temporary lane closure in the project area near Summit Lake.
Starting on Sept. 3 and continuing through 2025, the road will be fully closed to both motorized and non-motorized travel, according to the release. A public closure area will span from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) gate on Colorado Highway 5 through the project area above Summit Lake. People who want to go to the Mount Blue Sky summit will have to hike there.
The area is expected to reopen on Memorial Day weekend 2026, if conditions allow it.
The construction project will repair the damaged roadway from the Summit Lake overflow parking lot to the first switchback past Summit Lake, the release said, which will make the area safer while benefiting the environment.
Areas including Echo Lake Park, Echo Lake Campground and the Chicago Lakes and Mount Blue Sky Summit trails will be open throughout the construction project.
For people who want to visit Mount Blue Sky this year, reservations can be made at recreation.gov starting at 8 a.m. on May 21. Reservations can be made up to 30 days before your visit, and they're required if you're planning to park and visit one of the three developed sites (Mount Goliath Natural Area, Summit Lake Park, or the Mount Blue Sky Summit) between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Mount Blue Sky Recreation Area is tentatively scheduled to open on May 31, which is a week later than the traditional Memorial Day weekend opening. Clear Creek District Ranger Patsy McEntee said there are a couple of reasons for the delay.
“Mount Blue Sky Recreation Area requires a full team to manage, from operating the welcome station to cleaning the restrooms at the summit,” McEntee said in a statement. “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. We hope making this decision early helps the public plan ahead.”
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