In a cooperative effort between Boulder County and Eldorado Canyon State Park, a new weekend and holiday shuttle service to the park will be offered from Friday, July 3 through Labor Day. Parking is extremely limited inside the state park, and no parking is available outside of it. When parking inside the state park is full, no additional vehicles are allowed in. The new shuttle service offers visitors another transportation method to the popular destination that often is at capacity from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the summer on weekends and holidays.
Shuttles will run on Saturdays, Sundays and on holidays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., departing every 15 minutes. The first shuttle leaves CU Boulder at 8 a.m. and the last shuttle leaves the state park at 7 p.m.
As a special promotion for the first couple weekends of the shuttle service, Boulder County is covering the Eldorado Canyon State Park entry fee for shuttle passengers who do not have an annual pass. That means you can ride the shuttle and visit the park for FREE.
After Colorado Parks & Wildlife makes individual day passes available for purchase online, all shuttle passengers will be required to present a valid state parks pass to ride the shuttle into the state park. No pass or fee is required to ride the shuttle to CO 93 & CO 170 to access the Marshall Mesa Trailhead.
There will be six stops and four parking lots in Boulder along the shuttle route, all offer FREE parking, however none allow overnight parking.
CU Boulder/Regent parking lot:
- Lot 306 on Regent Drive, just east of Broadway. Shuttle stops in the parking lot.
Broadway and 27th Way: RTD Park-n-Ride on the east side of Broadway.
- Catch the shuttle on the opposite side of Broadway at the southbound RTD bus stop.
- Note: if your car is registered outside of the RTD District, you will need to pay for parking at this lot.
Broadway and Dartmouth: RTD Park-n-Ride on the east side of Broadway.
- Catch the shuttle on the opposite side of Broadway at the southbound RTD bus stop.
Highway 93 and Highway 170 (Marshall Mesa Trailhead): Park in the dirt lot on the east side of Highway 93.
- Catch the shuttle on the opposite side of Highway 93 in front of the gas station, next to the old trucks.
Eldorado Canyon State Park entrance station
- Shuttle stops in front of the entrance station bathrooms
- Exit here to access the Streamside Trail
Eldorado Canyon State Park Visitor Center
- Shuttle stops in front of the visitor center
- Exit here for the Fowler, Rattlesnake, or Eldorado Canyon Trails and the picnic area
Personal belongings or equipment that will be allowed on the shuttle include:
- 2-3 bikes per shuttle (up to 29 inches in diameter, 3.2 feet wide).
- Crash pads and climbing gear
- Leashed, well-behaved dogs
- Strollers
A valid annual park pass or individual daily pass is required for all passengers 16 and older to ride the shuttle into Eldorado Canyon State Park (there is no state park entrance fee for kids ages 15 and younger).
A valid individual annual pass is included as part of your annual vehicle pass purchase. Individual daily pass fees are $4 per person and must be purchased online prior to boarding. Park passes can be purchased at cpwshop.com.
National Park Passes (America the Beautiful) are not valid for entry into Colorado State Parks.
To reduce the spread of COVID-19, these policies have been implemented for 2020:
- If you have recently experienced any symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, cough or sore throat, please do not ride the shuttle or visit the state park.
- All passengers ages 12 and older are required to wear a mask or face covering. Please bring your own mask.
- To promote social distancing, shuttle capacity is limited to approximately 10 passengers or three households, whichever is less.
- On the shuttle, please sit in the sections labeled and leave at least one row of seats between groups.
Shuttles are disinfected once per day, and high touch surfaces will be wiped down after each trip.