On the official Red Rocks calendar, the last 2026 entry is Sunday, Nov. 15: mike., with an opening set from DJ Stevie Daniels. The next entry is SIDEPIECE x Ship Wrek on Saturday, March 27, 2027. Nothing is listed in between.
That empty stretch, Nov. 16 through March 26, is 131 days, and it sets Morrison's winter more than the first snow does. Every one of those days counts as a non-event day at the amphitheatre, so the seats and stage stay open from an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset with no early cutoff. What does get shorter is the hours at the visitor centers, shops and tour buses nearby. That is the part of the season to plan around.
Five more show days, then a long quiet stretch
This Thursday, the amphitheatre still has one dense week left. The Red Rocks events page lists the remaining 2026 shows:
- Wednesday, Nov. 11: Steve Lacy, Oh yeah? Tour
- Thursday, Nov. 12: Clipse & J.I.D, with Samara Cyn
- Friday, Nov. 13: GRYFFIN, with Oliver Heldens and AR/CO
- Saturday, Nov. 14: mike., with a closing DJ set from Stevie Daniels
- Sunday, Nov. 15: mike., with an opening set from DJ Stevie Daniels
That makes five straight show days to end the year. On each one, the amphitheatre follows its event-day schedule. According to Red Rocks' getting-here page, it opens an hour before sunrise and closes to the public at approximately 2 p.m. The venue doesn't set the exact closing time until the week of the show, and it can change. A recorded line at 720-865-2494 has the current times.
So a late-afternoon walk up the rows on Nov. 11 through 15 won't work. Starting Monday, Nov. 16, it will, and it stays that way through late March.
What the 2 p.m. cutoff costs, and what replaces it
During concert season, the 2 p.m. event-day closure is the rule that most limits public access to the amphitheatre. In the off-season, the limit becomes daylight. Red Rocks Park and its trails keep the same hours year-round, opening an hour before sunrise and closing an hour after sunset. Admission and parking are free at the park, the amphitheatre, the Visitor Center and the Trading Post.
The tradeoff is with the buildings. Their winter schedules run November through February, which means the Visitor Center went to winter hours on Nov. 1, two weeks before the last show.
| Red Rocks facility | March to October | November to February |
|---|---|---|
| Amphitheatre, non-event days | 1 hour before sunrise to 1 hour after sunset | Same |
| Amphitheatre, event days | Closes approx. 2 p.m. | No events listed after Nov. 15 |
| Park and trails | 1 hour before sunrise to 1 hour after sunset | Same |
| Visitor Center | 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Trading Post | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Thanksgiving and Christmas |
The Visitor Center shrinks from 12 hours a day to 8, and the evening hours are the ones that go. Starting from the Visitor Center works in the summer at almost any hour. In winter, you have to be there before 4 p.m. The Trading Post loses only an hour, but its two holiday closures fall on the days when out-of-town guests are most likely to ask to see Red Rocks.
Dinosaur Ridge switched to winter even earlier
The same split between open grounds and shorter building hours applies down the hogback. Dinosaur Ridge went to winter hours on Nov. 1, and they last through March 14.
The Main Visitor Center, Exhibit Hall and Martin G. Lockley Discovery Center are all open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., an hour shorter than their 9-to-5 schedule from spring through fall. Guided bus tours run daily from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. instead of until 4 p.m., and weekend walking tours still require a reservation.
Snow matters more here than at the amphitheatre. Dinosaur Ridge says some of its sites can be inaccessible in severe weather and that tour buses may not run. On a questionable morning, it asks visitors to call 303-697-3466 after 9 a.m. It also lists three fixed closures: Thanksgiving on Nov. 26, Christmas on Dec. 25 and New Year's Day on Jan. 1, 2027.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are also the Trading Post's closed days, so on both holidays the two staffed attractions closest to Morrison will be closed. The rocks themselves stay open.
Bear Creek Lake Park keeps the latest fixed closing time
East of town, the City of Lakewood's Bear Creek Lake Park is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from November through February. Its visitor center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday. The campground is seasonal. Its 2026 season ran April 1 through Oct. 31, so it is already closed.
Of the three main destinations around Morrison, this park's gates have the longest set winter schedule, and they stay open two hours after the Red Rocks Visitor Center and Dinosaur Ridge buildings close. The park visitor center follows its own weekday schedule, so a Sunday or Monday visit means grounds only.
Bear Creek Ave on a quieter calendar
The off-season also changes what's open in town. Two spots on and near Bear Creek Ave have news that falls right in this window.
The Morrison Inn, 301 Bear Creek Ave. The restaurant has a new owner, Gabriel Cristerna. In a Canyon Courier profile, he described a gradual refresh that keeps the restaurant's identity. The plans included matching patio chairs, exterior paint, updated interior rooms, better-quality meat, more sauces made in-house and a stronger Red Rocks margarita. He told the paper that the work would be "highly disruptive during high season, so we probably won't be done until fall." The Courier piece also said the wall of photos of local residents would stay. Cristerna called it "part of the restaurant's soul."
The same story introduced Tinto, a wine bar attached to the restaurant with its own entrance, which was set to open May 16. According to the Courier, glasses would run $9 to $19, with Laurent-Perrier Rosé Champagne at $22 a glass. The restaurant's website lists hours of 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tinto has its own entrance, so its hours may not match the restaurant's. Check before you go.
The Fort, 19192 Highway 8. The steakhouse's homepage says it is booking private holiday parties now and opens regular weekend holiday reservations, Thursday through Saturday, on November 15. The notice doesn't give a year. If it applies to this season, those reservations open the same day as the last Red Rocks show. Call ahead to confirm.
Morrison's winter, by date
Put together, the off-season has a handful of fixed dates:
- Nov. 1: Dinosaur Ridge switches to winter hours, and the Red Rocks Visitor Center and Trading Post begin their November-to-February schedules. Bear Creek Lake Park's winter gate hours also take effect.
- Nov. 11 to 15: The last five Red Rocks show days of 2026. The amphitheatre closes to the public at approximately 2 p.m. on each.
- Nov. 15: The final show. The Fort's homepage also lists November 15, with no year, as the day its regular Thursday-to-Saturday holiday reservations open.
- Nov. 16: The first non-event day of the winter. The amphitheatre is open from an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset.
- Nov. 26, Thanksgiving: The Red Rocks Trading Post and Dinosaur Ridge are closed.
- Dec. 4: Evergreen's 34th annual Holiday Walk runs 5 to 9 p.m. downtown, with a tree lighting at Evergreen Lake House. It is the closest scheduled holiday evening up the hill.
- Dec. 25: The Trading Post and Dinosaur Ridge are closed again.
- Jan. 1, 2027: Dinosaur Ridge is closed.
- March 14, 2027: Dinosaur Ridge's last day on winter hours.
- March 27, 2027: SIDEPIECE x Ship Wrek opens the next Red Rocks season, and event-day closures come back.
Between Nov. 16 and March 26, the amphitheatre has no event closures. What limits a visit is daylight and the 4 p.m. closings at the Red Rocks Visitor Center and the Dinosaur Ridge buildings.
Whether you're showing out-of-town guests the amphitheatre or planning a holiday dinner on Bear Creek Ave, Moxie Property Group follows the Red Rocks calendar and the hours around it. If a quiet winter in Morrison has you thinking about where to live along the foothills, Start Your Colorado Search with us.
