With elk rut­ting sea­son approach­ing, Rocky Moun­tain Nation­al Park will imple­ment overnight clo­sures in select areas of the park begin­ning Tuesday.

Rangers have expand­ed the hours of clo­sures this year because there have been increas­ing inci­dents of vis­i­tors approach­ing elk over the past two years, accord­ing to a park news release.

From 5 p.m. until 10 a.m., trav­el off of estab­lished road­ways and des­ig­nat­ed trails on foot or horse­back will be pro­hib­it­ed in Horse­shoe Park, Upper Beaver Mead­ows, Moraine Park, Har­bi­son Mead­ow and Holzwarth Mead­ow, the release said. In pre­vi­ous years, those clo­sures were lift­ed at 7 a.m. but have been extend­ed to 10 a.m. this year. Clo­sures will remain in effect through Oct. 31.

In addi­tion, fish­ing in des­ig­nat­ed areas of Fall Riv­er, Thomp­son Riv­er or the Col­orado Riv­er will be closed from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m., as in pre­vi­ous years.

Elk rut­ting sea­son nor­mal­ly peaks from mid-Sep­tem­ber through mid-Octo­ber. Accord­ing to the news release, the pur­pose of the clo­sures is to “pre­vent dis­tur­bance and harass­ment of elk dur­ing their fall mat­ing peri­od and to enhance vis­i­tor elk view­ing opportunities.”

Sub­scribe to our week­ly newslet­ter, The Adven­tur­ist, to get out­doors news sent straight to your inbox.