Rocky Mountain National Park falls just shy of visitation record

Rocky Mountain National Park almost set another visitation record in 2017, falling less than 2 percent shy of the number of visitors it saw in 2016.

It was the first time since 2013 the park hasn't set a visitation record. The 2017 tally of 4,437,214 visitors will go on the books as the park's second-highest annual visitation. The park saw about 4.5 million visitors in 2016.

Visitation has increased about 40 percent since 2012, according to a park news release that cited Front Range population growth and recent centennial celebrations for Rocky and the National Park Service as potential contributing factors.

Weather is also often a visitation factor, the release said.

Park managers are evaluating ways to protect Rocky's visitors, staff and natural resources from the pains of popularity.

More: National park entry fee hike could hurt RMNP

Last summer and fall, staff restricted vehicle access during congested periods in the highly trafficked Bear Lake Road corridor, Wild Basin area and Alpine Visitor Center. They'll continue to do so in 2018, officials said, and staff will announce other management initiatives later this year.

Late spring 2018 could see park entry fees more than triple at Rocky as part of a NPS plan to address deferred maintenance by increasing peak season prices. Fees would increase from $20 to $70 per private vehicle from June through October.

Rocky has a deferred maintenance backlog of more than $75 million, a fraction of more than $12 billion in unmet needs at national parks nationwide.

Here are Rocky Mountain National Park's 10 busiest days of 2017:

1. July 3

2. Sept. 3

3. July 2

4. Sept. 30

5. July 1

6. July 15

7. July 22

8. July 23

9. Aug. 4

10. Sept. 2.

Source: RMNP

RMNP visitation by year

2017: 4.4 million

2016: 4.5 million

2015: 4.2 million

2014: 3.4 million

2013: 3 million

2012: 3.2 million

2011: 3.2 million

2010: 3 million

2009: 2.8 million

2008: 2.8 million

Source: RMNP