By Parker Yamasaki | The Colorado Sun
Memorial Day travelers hoping for a long, scenic drive through the Rockies may have to re-route their plans.
Independence Pass, the popular highway that connects Aspen to Twin Lakes and passes beneath four fourteeners, will remain closed through Memorial Day weekend. Its anticipated opening date has been pushed back to June 1.
The pass typically closes on Nov. 7 and “almost always” opens the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s website. The highway closed a week early this past winter in anticipation of a storm. The last time Colorado 82 wasn’t open by Memorial Day was in 2020, after several counties requested it stay closed to limit travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.