WASHINGTON — Despite the protracted 11-day partial government shutdown, Rocky Mountain National Park will temporarily re-open Saturday at noon under an agreement reached Friday between the Interior Department and Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Under terms announced by federal officials, Hickenlooper will donate $362,700 in state cash to bring furloughed National Park Service employees back to work for 10 days.

Hickenlooper promised to keep the park open for the duration of the shutdown, estimating it will cost $40,300 per day if the shutdown continues beyond Oct. 20.

The news was welcome to the region, which has weathered a one-two $4.8 million economic wallop this fall — the peak time for visitors.

The destructive September floods temporarily closed much of the park and the access roads to it. Then, just a couple days after Park Superintendent Vaughan Baker was able to reopen 93 percent of the park, Congress failed to appropriate money to keep the federal government open.

The Interior Department shuttered all 401 national parks across the country and furloughed more than 20,000 National Park Service employees. The four other national parks in Colorado, including the Great Sand Dunes and Mesa Verde, will remain closed.

Typically, 550,000 people a month flock to Rocky Mountain National Park in the fall to glimpse the fall color and hear the elks bugle. They also stay in hotels and eat sandwiches and buy T-shirts in neighboring Estes Park.

The Coalition of National Park Service Retirees estimate Rocky Mountain National Park has lost more than $4.8 million in tourist dollars.

“We’ve been through a lot in Estes Park these past weeks. The closing of Rocky Mountain National Park, on top of the already devastating impact of the recent flood, came at the worst possible time,” said Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, whose district encompasses the park. “Although the reopening of Rocky Mountain National Park is something to celebrate, it is a temporary measure, not a long-term solution. Ultimately, we need to end the government shutdown.”

On Thursday, Hickenlooper announced that the state was working with the Department of Interior to reopen Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park until the road closes for the winter, typically around Oct. 24.

Hickenlooper said Trail Ridge Road will reopen as soon as the high-altitude highway can be plowed, giving Estes Park a much-needed second access point.

However, park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said Friday afternoon the road — 11 miles of which is above 11,500 feet — is covered with 2- to 5-foot drifts of snow. “It is unknown if Trail Ridge Road will reopen again this season.”

Last year, weather closed the road on Oct. 11, she said.

Hickenlooper said having even just two weeks of tourism through the park and town will help generate critical income for small businesses.

“I think for the state, there is a power in all the tourists, all those small businesses are open,” said Hickenlooper, who visited Estes Park Wednesday. “I walked down the Main Street in Estes Park and it’s empty … How can you not go out there and do what you can?”

Rocky Mountain National Park is among a handful of national parks re-opened at the requests of several mostly Western state governors.

The governors argued to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell that state and local economies were being unfairly crushed during the federal government shutdown.

On a case by case basis, Jewell has struck agreements with states to allow them to temporarily operate their national parks.

Utah was the first to jump at the offer, with Gov. Gary Herbert signing a deal for a 10-day reopening of the state’s five national parks. State officials wired $1.67 million to the federal government, and National Park Service workers began removing barriers and opening gates.

Late Friday, New York reached agreement to reopen the Statue of Libertyand Arizona to reopen the Grand Canyon. But Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead’s office said the state will not pay to reopen two heavily visited national parks or the Devil’s Tower National Monument.

“Wyoming cannot bail out the federal government,” Mead spokesman Renny MacKay said.

States will have to pay for the parks themselves unless Congress specifically authorizes federal reimbursement.

Money from the Colorado Tourism Office will initially be used operate Rocky Mountain National Park. The state will seek reimbursement.

According to the Regional Economics Institute at Colorado State University, which did some economic forecasting, fewer visitors to the area will likely cost jobs in Estes Park.

A 70 percent decrease in visitors could mean the loss of 1,111 jobs, $90 million in spending, $5.8 million in state tax revenue and $4.4 million in local taxes.

If 100 percent of those tourists go to another state — unlikely since national parks were closed nationwide — it would cost Colorado an estimated 1,588 jobs, according to the forecast.

Tourism spending would fall by $129.1 million, the state tax base would lose $8.3 million, and local taxes would fall by $6.3 million from the usual take, according to the projections.

Allison Sherry: 202-662-8907, asherry@denverpost.com or twitter.com/allisonsherry

The Associated Press contributed to this report.