Chet Strange, Special to the Denver Post
A woman sits on a rock at Bear Lake at Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday, May 30, 2020. Starting on June 04, visiting the park will require a permit. 
Getting your player ready...
While July 2019 was a with nearly one million people going to Rocky Mountain National Park, officials recorded roughly 25% fewer visitors this past July.
For the first time ever, Rocky implemented a timed permit system from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the week allocating permits equal to about 60% of the maximum parking capacity. That equals 4,800 vehicles a day.
Because of visitors entering the park outside the reservation hours, the actual visitation in July was about 75% of Rocky’s maximum capacity.
The Grand Lake entrance received 86,149 of the 723,478 total visitors, equaling a drop of 44% compared to last July. The Beaver Meadows entrance on the eastern side of the park saw 18.2% fewer visitors.
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