The Denver Mountain Parks system contains more than of parklands in the mountains and foothills of Jefferson, Clear Creek,

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

, and

Grand Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and comm ...

counties in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, west and south of

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Owned and maintained by the City and County of

, this historic system was launched in 1910 and required Congressional approval in 1914 for the city to purchase federal lands outside its municipal limits. The mountain parks system was created “''for the purpose of assuring perpetually to the residents of Denver the sublime scenery of the Rockies, the preservation of native forests and having for all time a pleasure ground in the mountains for the thousands of annual visitors to the city easily accessible''.” The Denver Mountain Parks system currently consists of 22 developed parks and other undeveloped parklands that serve as open space, scenic viewsheds, and wildlife habitat. It ranges in elevation from 5,800 to 13,000 ft above sea level. Many of the parks have picnic areas and some have trails. J.J.B. Benedict designed many of the pavilions and shelters in these parks, using native stone and timber to create a “mountain architecture” style that blends into the natural sites. Two shelters, one in Genesee Park and one in Dedisse Park, were built in the late 1930s by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a ...

. The Denver Mountain Park properties encompass a variety of habitats, including prairie, mountain meadow, riparian forests, montane ( ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir) and subalpine ( Engelmann spruce) forests, and

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

. Bison herds were established in wildlife preserves at Genesee Park in 1914 and later in Daniels Park as part of an effort to recover this species extirpated from Colorado.

History

Beginning in about 1909-10, the idea of a mountain park in the foothills west of Denver was promoted by John Brisben Walker and Denver's Mayor

Robert W. Speer Robert Walter Speer (December 1, 1855 – May 14, 1918) was elected mayor of Denver, Colorado three times. He served two four-year terms in office from 1904 to 1912. He died from Influenza, early on in the worldwide epidemic of that year on M ...

. Walker approached the Denver Real Estate Exchange, the Denver Chamber of Commerce, and the Denver Motor Club, and each of these appointed a committee to evaluate the idea. Later these were formed into a "Joint Committee of the Commercial Bodies." A city election in May 1912 gave voter approval to a mill levy to support the project. In 1912, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. was hired to plan the park system. Olmsted identified 41,310 acres (167 km²) of land that Denver should acquire for parks, mountain roads, and to protect scenic vistas. Acquisition of Genesee Park began in 1912; it was the first park established and, at 2,413 acres (9.7 km²), is still the largest. The last new parks were

Red Rocks Park Red Rocks Park is a mountain park in Jefferson County, Colorado, owned and maintained by the city of Denver as part of the Denver Mountain Parks system. The park is known for its very large red sandstone outcrops. Many of these rock formations wi ...

, purchased in 1927-28; O'Fallon Park and Newton Park, donated in 1939; and Winter Park, purchased in 1939. Daniels Park was also expanded at that time. The major parks in the system were designated to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1990 and 1995 as a result of multiple-property submissions that ultimately included sixteen parks. Two of the highways originally built by Denver in 1912-1914, the Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive and the Lariat Trail Scenic Mountain Drive, were also included in that designation. These drives today are part of the Lariat Loop Scenic & Historic Byway. The designated parks are listed at

National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Colorado __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Colorado. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County ...

. Despite their historical significance, dedicated funding for the parks was eliminated in 1955 when they became part of the Denver Parks and Recreation Department. After that time, the parks were relatively neglected, a situation that led to the formation of the Denver Mountain Parks Foundation as an advocacy group in 2004. In 2008, the Foundation and the Department joined forces to create a Master Plan for the system, the first since the original Olmsted Plan. The Plan "examines the value of the Mountain Parks to the people of Denver; provides sustainable management strategies for the funding, marketing, and protection of the currently underfunded system; and proposes both large and small improvements for the next 5-20+ years, to take this system to a level of quality commensurate with its international status." For the plan, a new logo (above) was commissioned from artist Michael Schwab to help create an identity for the park system. In 2013, the Denver Mountain Parks Foundation and the City of Denver marked the centennial of the park system with a book featuring park history, scenic and historic photographs, and a guide to the system. ''Denver Mountain Parks: 100 Years of the Magnificent Dream'' was released August 1, 2013, by John Fielder Publishing.

List of Mountain Parks

Properties owned by the City & County of Denver as Mountain Parks vary in degree of development and use. Some familiar parks are well known and regularly visited (Red Rocks Park, Echo Lake, for example); others are remote or small parcels that receive less use (Pence Park, Turkey Creek Park). Most parks have picnic areas and restrooms, but in some cases in this list, "developed" may refer only to accessibility, e.g., Bear Creek Canyon and Deer Creek Canyon. A few park names are duplicated in Jefferson County Open Space parks.

References

External links

Denver Mountain Parks web portal (links to official City pages)Denver Mountain Parks FoundationDenver Mountain Parks History PagesLariat Loop Scenic & Historic BywayHistory of Denver Mountain Parks
Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado Protected areas of Jefferson County, Colorado Protected areas of Clear Creek County, Colorado Protected areas of Douglas County, Colorado Protected areas of Grand County, Colorado National Register of Historic Places in Grand County, Colorado 1910 establishments in Colorado Parks in Denver

History

List of Mountain Parks

References

Further reading

External links