Storm_Pass_Sunrise_2021_2Dramatic colors bathe the landscape in orange tones and the clouds in shades of pink and purple in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Sept. 4, 2024 marks 109 years since Rocky Mountain National Park was dedicated as the tenth national park in the U.S.

On that late summer afternoon in 1915, Enos Mills, F.O. Stanley, Mary Belle King Sherman and Colorado Congressman Ed Taylor, along with more than 200 onlookers, officially marked the preservation of the park. At the time, the park was about 360 square miles but has since grown to 415 with land acquisitions, including those by Rocky Mountain Conservancy and donations from generous families in the Estes Park and Grand Lake areas.

Mills, who was an early settler, guide and lodge owner in the Estes Park area and became known as the "Father of Rocky Mountain National Park" for his passionate determination to conserve this region as a national park, wanted more than 1,000 square miles preserved. His vision, originally described as a game refuge, stretched from Wyoming to Pikes Peak and spanned 42 miles east to west from the Never Summer Range to the eastern plains. The area less than a third of that size that became protected by President Woodrow Wilson's signing of the Rocky Mountain National Park Act on January 26, 1915, however, saved some of the best examples of tundra landscape in Colorado. 

Sunrise_TRR_2018_1The sun peaks out from behind the distant mountain at sunrise on the tundra in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Today, more than one-third of the park – 89,099 acres – is tundra and nearly 95% of the park is designated wilderness, meaning there is little to no human imprint on the landscape. 

Mills once said, "In years to come when I am asleep beneath the pines, thousands of families will find rest and hope in this park.”

That has certainly been the case, and then some.

As the park has continued to be one of the most popular national parks in its 109-year history, it has seen challenges with managing visitation, with park management adding camping reservations, backcountry reservations and timed entry reservations over the years to curb the number of people within the park to help preserve its beauty and natural resources. It still remains, however, one of the most stunning national parks, with its abundance of wildlife, pristine alpine lakes and large stretches of high peaks.

If you are interested in learning more about the park, including its natural history, human history, wildlife, photo hotspots and just how to best visit the park, consider one of our tours. For more information, visit ccnaturetours.com.