The design of the reconstructed fort fails to meet accessibility, fire, and life-safety requirements of 1976. A lack of code compliant components such as emergency lighting, illuminated exit signage, panic hardware on doors, and outwardly swinging exit doors results in a limitation of 49 occupants for visitor operations within the reconstructed fort.
Entry into the reconstructed fort is limited to the central plaza on scheduled days. For your safety respect all closures and restrictions. Guided tours provide access into additional areas.
A 1/4 mile (1,275 feet) walk on a paved trail from the parking area is required to reach the gate of the fort. At the end of your visit, you'll return to your vehicle along the same path.
Regularly scheduled guided tours provide access into furnished rooms and explore the fort’s role in Westward Expansion and the reconstruction of the fort in 1976.
Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site
The park grounds are open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except on New Year's Day, the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr, Washington's Birthday, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. During the off-season [October-March annually], the grounds are open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except for the holidays listed above.
Plaza access into the reconstructed fort is on a separate schedule—see the event calendar for hours of operation on scheduled plaza access days.
Replica Fort
Five days a week the public is invited inside the 1976 replica of Bent’s Old Fort, entering through the zaguan gate and into the plaza. Park Rangers will be present to explain the features of the fort and its 20th century reconstruction. Entry into the replica fort is limited to the central plaza, except on guided tours, due to safety issues. For your safety, respect all closures and restrictions. Guided tours provide access to some furnished spaces.