The road to the summit of Mount Blue Sky, formerly known as Mount Evans, will not open for the summer of 2025 because of a construction project being managed by the Federal Highway Administration.
Driving the road to the summit of the 14,266-foot peak, the highest paved road in North America, is one of Colorado’s most treasured summer activities, as well as a lure for out-of-state tourists. The closure had been rumored for months, but was not confirmed until the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests put out a news release with details on Thursday.
The release also offered details of the road’s reservation requirements for this coming summer.
Construction on the FHA project will begin in late July or early August this coming summer with temporary lane closures at Summit Lake, 1,400 feet below the summit. The purpose of the project is to repair damaged roadway from the Summit Lake overflow parking area to the first switchback above the lake, according to the release.
The road will close for the winter this year starting the day after Labor Day, as usual, and will not reopen until Memorial Day of 2026. The closure will be imposed at the seasonal CDOT gate, located 500 feet beyond the entrances to the Echo Lake Campground and Echo Lake Lodge.
This year, the road is tentatively scheduled to open on May 31, conditions permitting, a week later than usual.
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“Mount Blue Sky Recreation Area requires a full team to manage, from operating the welcome station to cleaning the restrooms at the summit,” said Clear Creek district ranger Patsy McEntee, according to the release. “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.”
Reservations must be made through recreation.gov, which will become available on May 21 at 8 a.m. Reservations can be made up to 30 days in advance.
The mountain, previously named after 1860s-era territorial Gov. John Evans, was renamed last year because of his involvement in the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864.