Rocky Mountain National Park Elopement Guide (Updated for 2024)

Oct 6

This is a guide to planning a Rocky Mountain National Park elopement including ceremony locations, permit requirements, elopement vendors near RMNP, and locations within the park where you can get stunning mountain views.

Table of Contents

Why have Rocky Mountain National Park elopement?

Rocky Mountain National Park wedding permit info
- Permit cost
FAQs about eloping in Rocky Mountain National Park
- How much does it cost to elope in Rocky Mountain National Park?
- Where can we marry in the park?
- Where can we take photos in the park?
- When should we apply for a permit?
- What’s the best time of year to visit Rocky Mountain National Park?
- Can we have our dog at our wedding?
- What restrictions are there for weddings in the park?
Where can you marry in Rocky Mountain National Park?
- Bear Lake
- Moraine Park Amphitheater
- Sprague Lake
- Upper Beaver Meadows
- Hidden Valley
- Lily Lake
- Copeland Lake
- 3M Curve
- Harbison Meadow
- Timber Creek Amphitheater
- Alluvial Fan Bridge
How to apply for a wedding permit in Rocky Mountain National Park

Why plan a Rocky Mountain National Park elopement?

I grew up visiting RMNP, worked as an outdoor educational instructor there, and it’s where I shot my very first engagement shoot back in 2016, so Rocky has a special place in my heart. National Park elopements have become very popular and the reasoning is simple: it’s cheap, it’s beautiful, and has views you can’t get at a traditional wedding venue. Rocky Mountain National Park is a particularly popular place to get married, because it’s one of the most visited national parks in the country, and there’s a wide variety of places to marry, drive, and hike all over the park.

Every national park, state park, and national forest has different rules regarding weddings and different processes on how to go about marrying there, so it can get really overwhelming sometimes. Since RMNP is such a popular park, it has a lot of rules and regulations and specifics that need to be followed, and it can get really confusing trying to plan a wedding there. Since I’ve spent so much time in RMNP, I’ve gotten to know the park and it’s regulations well, so I wanted to create a guide to answer all of your questions. I’ve been to all the wedding locations, hiked all over the park, and know all the park rules, so I can help you plan your elopement in the park.

RMNP Wedding Permit Info

If you didn’t know, in order to marry in Rocky Mountain National Park, YOU NEED A SPECIAL USE PERMIT. You can not marry in the park without a permit, even if it’s just the two of you exchanging vows. The permit is $300 and allows you to marry and take photos anywhere in the park. Additionally, YOU MUST MARRY IN A DESIGNATED AREA. Unfortunately, because RMNP is such a busy park, you can no longer marry anywhere in the park- you have to exchange vows at designated locations that will be specified on your permit. You can take photos wherever you want in the park, but having an actual ceremony has to happen in at the location on your permit. If these rules are broken, you and your vendors will all be fined.

Applications for wedding ceremonies taking place in 2024 are currently open, and applications for 2025 will open soon. The park accepts applications one year in advance of the wedding month. This means that you have to apply for your June 2024 wedding permit on June 1, 2023, your July 2024 wedding permit on July 1, 2023, etc. etc.

The park issues a max of 60 permits per month for the park’s busy season, which is May-October, and a max of 40 permits per month for the slow season, which is November-December, so applications are extremely limited. All permits are issued on a first-come, first-serve basis.

All wedding ceremonies sites allow a MAX of 30 people (this is including the couple, guests, officiant and photographer), unless the normal site limit is less.

FAQs about eloping in Rocky Mountain National Park

In order to elope in Rocky Mountain National Park, you need to pay a $300 permit fee to reserve one of the 12 designated wedding ceremony sites in the park. Your guests still need to pay the park entrance fee if riding in separate cars from yours.
There are 11 designated ceremony sites. You must reserve one of them in order to elope in the park. You have to exchange vows and rings at a designated site, but you can take portraits anywhere in the park.
No. There are many photos of these places online, but they’re all either photos taken before or after a ceremony at one of the designated ceremony sites, or couples (and photographers) who broke the law. If you break the rules, you, your officiant, and your photographer will all be fined by a ranger.
Yes, you can take photos anywhere within the park if it’s just portraits. Even if you’re getting married in Estes Park and want couples portraits in RMNP, that’s allowed. Your photographer will need a photo permit, but it’s only $50 for a single session or $300 for the annual permit. Most legitimate photographers will cover the cost of permits for their couples if they photograph on public land regularly.
As soon as the permits are released. Permits go fast (especially for weekends in summer), and they’re in limited supply. There are only 60 permits available for each month from May through October, and 40 permits per month for November through April. You can apply for a permit one year in advance of the month you wish to marry. So, If you want to elope in June of 2025, you can apply on June 1, 2024. If you have a specific date in mind, you need to apply as soon as possible within the one year to make sure you get the site you want. Permits are first-come first-serve.
In short- summer and early fall. After Memorial Day, Trail Ridge Road will open and usually by the first or second week of October it closes, and that is the most pleasant time to be in Rocky Mountain National Park- but it’s also the busiest. Winter and spring is less busy, but the park is right on the continental divide, so winter storms form over the mountains and strong wind blows snow, creating frigid temperatures.
Moraine Park Discovery Center Amphitheater is the only site in the park that allows dogs, and dogs are only allowed on paved roads and parking areas. Dogs are not allowed on any trails or ceremony sites.
- Most sites don’t allow dogs, and no trails allow dogs
- Fireworks of any kind are not allowed (anywhere in the Colorado mountains has this rule) including sparklers and smoke bombs
- All sites are restricted to 30 people, some are restricted to even less
- No throwing flower petals, rice, confetti, or leaving behind any other trash or waste of any kind including champagne corks
- All sites are limited to 30 people, some sites are limited to less
- Some sites limit the amount of cars allowed at the site.
- No blocking off trails or ceremony sites- the permit doesn’t reserve an area exclusively for you and your party
- no amplified music or mics
- no decorations, chairs, tables, tents, etc. are allowed to be set up

Where can you marry in Rocky Mountain National Park?

Bear Lake

Bear Lake is probably the most popular elopement location in the park, because it’s a beautiful spot. It’s also a popular hiking trail for the same reason. RMNP only allows weddings here on weekdays in the off season between the second weekend in October and the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. Bear Lake is a good place to have a ceremony if you want to hike Dream Lake or other trails in the glacier gorge afterward.

You won’t have any privacy here, and people will be walking on the trail next to/in front of/behind wherever you say your vows, so this is really a better spot if it’s just the two of you instead of a larger group of people. The trail is relatively flat and accessible, though, so it isn’t bad for older or disabled folks.

Ceremony rules: Max 20 people + 5 cars. No weddings permitted from the Friday before Memorial Day weekend through the second Monday in October. No weekends any time.

Moraine Park Amphitheater

Moraine Park Amphitheater is the best place to have a wedding with a large group of guests in Rocky Mountain National Park and one of my favorite spots, because it’s in the trees, so it’s shaded, and it’s more set up to host a real wedding. The site allows up to 30 people, has benches for your guests, and it’s the only site in the park where you can have an arch or other decorations. There’s a wheelchair friendly trail, plenty of parking spots, and restrooms in the discovery center building. It isn’t too far from Bear Lake/Dream Lake trailhead or the sweeping meadow of Moraine Park, which are both good for photographs after the ceremony.

Ceremony rules: Max 30 people. 10 cars max from the Friday before Memorial Day weekend through the second Monday in October. No parking limit applies thereafter in winter.

Sprague Lake

Sprague Lake is one of my favorite ceremony locations in the park. There’s a little loop trail around the lake that leads to the dock, which has pretty mountain views. The trail is considered wheelchair accessible, because it’s wide and flat, but there is gravel in some areas, and it can be difficult if there’s any snow or mud.

You can marry anywhere around the lake, but the dock is often where people choose for their ceremony, because It allows you to be completely off trail, with no hikers in the background of your photos – and also means that hikers can enjoy the area without awkwardly trying to pass by your wedding on the side of the trail.

If privacy is important to you, I’d suggest a different location or a weekday ceremony, because Sprague Lake is always busy. It’s pretty and easy to walk with kids and old folks, and it’s a picnic spot, so people often stop here and parking can be limited. Parking for you and your guests isn’t reserved for you when you reserve a ceremony location, so try to take as few cars as possible.

Ceremony rules: Max 15 people + 3 cars in summer, 30 people + 10 cars in winter.

Upper Beaver Meadows

Upper Beaver Meadows is also a really popular spot to elope in the park, because it’s the most private. Beaver Meadows is a pretty boring trail, comparatively, to other hiking trails in the area (no lakes, waterfalls or crazy mountain views), so not many tourists come here to hike. It’s also out of the way down a road in the park, off of Trail Ridge Road, so there’s no traffic noise and usually a lot of parking. For this reason, it’s one of my favorites, because you likely won’t be interrupted by others.

This is one of the more accessible sites, because there’s restrooms at the trailhead, and a lot of different areas to have the ceremony site, including a fairly flat grassy meadow right next to the parking lot that a wheelchair is able to traverse if necessary. You can check out this wedding I shot there here, where many of the guests were older and one was wheelchair bound. Unfortunately, you can only elope here from May through late October, because the road closes in winter.

Ceremony rules: Max 30 guests + 10 cars.

Hidden Valley

Hidden Valley used to be a ski run back in the day, but closed (because it doesn’t snow hardly at all on the east side of the mountains), so now, it’s just an open meadow at the base of the mountain. I personally really like the Hidden Valley ceremony site, because the area is secluded and quiet, and there’s more forest and shade in this site than most of the others. There’s no significant hiking trails in the area, so tourists don’t usually stop here, so you have more privacy than in most other sites. The trail is also wheelchair accessible, and there are restrooms and a picnic shelter at the trailhead, plus plenty of parking. Hidden Valley is at the base of Trail Ridge Road, so it’s easy to head up to the top when your ceremony is over to take photos with sweeping those mountain views.

Ceremony rules: 30 people max.

Lily Lake

There are three different wedding ceremony sites at Lily Lake: the Dock, the Trail, and the Southside Picnic Area. The dock has good views, but is also the busiest because hikers walk right behind it. A weekday and sunrise/late evening ceremony is advised here, because Lily Lake is one of the busier spots in the park, because it’s an easily accessible spot in the park. However, this also means it’s wheelchair accessible and there are restrooms as well as a picnic chelter, so it’s good for elderly and disabled folks.

Ceremony rules: You can have a max of 10 guests at the dock, 20 at the trail, or 30 at the picnic area. 10 cars max from the Friday before Memorial Day weekend through the second Monday in October. No parking limits in winter.

Copeland Lake

Copeland Lake is the only ceremony location on the Wild Basin entrance section of the national park. The lake is off of a dirt road. There’s not much privacy, but this is also a less visited area of the park compared to the other entrances, especially in the off season.

Ceremony rules: Max 30 people. 10 cars max from the Friday before Memorial Day weekend through Indigenous Peoples’ Day/Columbus Day (the second Monday in October). No parking limits in the winter.

3M Curve

3M Curve is probably the most popular place to get married in Rocky. It has good views of Longs and is a good spot for small groups of less than 15 people. The location isn’t marked on Google Maps, but it’s not difficult to find. 3M Curve is a big curve in the road when you’re driving Trail Ridge Road three miles after driving past the Beaver Meadows entrance.

The wedding ceremony site itself at 3M Curve is down the trail behind the big rock formation next to the parking area. There’s no restrooms and the trail is rocky and not very worn, so this isn’t the most accessible site for those who need it. It’s a popular spot to pull off for tourists, so there might be some noise from the road, but the ceremony site itself it fairly private.

Ceremony rules: Max 15 people + 3 cars year round.

Harbison Meadow

Harbison Meadow is one of the two ceremony locations on the Grand Lake (west) side of the park. It’s an open meadow with views of the mountains in the distance. The trail is relatively flat and pretty easily accessible; however, the landscape around Harbison Meadow was impacted by wildfire in 2020, so there’s a lot of burned trees and the landcape is pretty bare, now. It might be better to elope outside of the park if you have your heart set on Grand Lake- here’s a blog of different small venues in Colorado, some of which are in Grand Lake.

Ceremony rules: Max 30 people. 10 cars max from the Friday before Memorial Day weekend through the second Monday in October. No parking limits apply thereafter in winter.

Timber Creek Amphitheater

Timber Creek Amphitheater is one of the only wedding ceremony sites on the Grand Lake (west) side of Rocky Mountain National Park. The amphitheater is located at the Timber Creek Campground, so you could actually camp right there with all your guests if you wanted, which would be really cool. It’s also the most accessible of all the sites, with a wheelchair accessible trail and ramp for the stage, and restrooms at the campground. The big stage stage does block the mountain views a bit, unfortunately, and it isn’t as natural and rustic as many of the other sites, which is a drawback. However, if you have older folks joining you, or you wanted to turn your wedding into a camping reception, this would be the place to go.

Ceremony rules: Max 10 people + 5 cars in summer

Alluvial Fan Bridge

Originally, there was a lake further up in the mountains, but the dam burst and flooded the area in the early 1900s, and the alluvial fan is what’s left. Then, the original Alluvial Fan Bridge was washed away during flooding in 2013 along with a lot of the landscape. This isn’t my favorite part of the park to photogrpah, because it’s quite busy, and doesn’t have the best views.

Ceremony rules: Max 20 people + 5 cars.

How to Apply for a wedding permit in Rocky Mountain National Park

Step 1: Pick a location and date

Do you have a specific date in mind or a specific location? If you have a date in mind, email the RMNP Concession Management Office at romo_fees_permits@nps.gov to see which locations are available for your date. If you have a location in mind, but no set date, email to ask which dates it’s available for.

Step 2: Secure the permit

After emailing the park and figuring out the date and site, download and complete the printable wedding permit from the official RMNP site. In the “proposed activity” section, put “Elopement ceremony and wedding photos.” Include your photographer, officiant, and any other vendors that will be present for the ceremony in the guest count and vehicle count on the form.

Step 3: Pay the fee

The application fee is $300. The park should send you a payment link and instructions after your application has been processed. Note that you can not apply more than 1 year in advance. You can also not apply on short notice- the park needs at least a week or two to process the application.

Katie McNaught