Rocky Mountain National Park: A History

by Curt W. Buchholtz

Rocky Mountain National A History is more than just the story of Rocky Mountain in its brief tenure as a national park. Its scope includes the earliest traces of human activity in the region and outlines the major events of exploration, settlement, and exploitation. Origins of the national park ideas are followed into the recent decades of the Park's overwhelming popularity. It is a story of change, of mountains reflecting the tenor of the times. From being a hunting ground to becoming ranchland, from being a region of resorts to becoming a national park, this small segment of the Rocky Mountains displays a record of human activities that helps explain the present and may guide us toward the future.

Genres: History, Nature

255 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Teresa]

Comprehensive look at the early days in Estes Park and the events that led up to the founding of Rocky Mountain National Park. Thoroughly explores the ever-delicate balance shifts between conservation/preservation and being a destination for the masses. Good insight into park policy and its evolution over time. A must read for anyone living in Colorado!

[Riff]

A pretty detailed history of one of the nations foremost parks (and one I have had the privilege to spend a fair amount of time in). Having spent time there, I have often wondered who the people so many peaks and lakes and other features where, especially as Lisa Foster's otherwise excellent guild book for the park rarely provides this kind of information. This book adds a little history & context to that landscape of names.

Readers should note that this is a fairly old book so it only covers the park history up to the 1980s or so, though most of the issues of today go far back (visitation, fire management, wilderness preservation et cetera). But that does mean it does not cover stuff like the closing of the Hidden Valley Ski Area in the 1990s or the meadow restoration projects.

One big gap in the book is natural history. There is little discussion of the geologic or ecologic history of the park. It does at least cover the pre-settler indigenous history in the first chapter & does so quite respectfully & thoughtfully, though one wishes more time was spent on this. The information in this chapter seems to be mostly well aged. Certainly we have learned a lot more about life in the southern Rockies before the coming of Europeans in the decades since this book was written, but the broad outlines were very recognizable to someone fairly well versed on this subject. I was a little surprised to not see the Old Man Mountain site mentioned at all in this book given its great importance to tribes & the archeological work done there. However, I'm not completely sure when that work was done. It might be possible this wasn't as well documented when this book was written.

An easy recommend to anyone interested in the history of National Parks. Or really anyone who spends time up in RMNP & would like to know more details than park signs or Wiki artles can provide.

[Michelle Schulten]

Fun and interesting history.

[Judy]

Anyone who wants to gain insight into Rocky Mountain National Park should read this book, ... and read it more than once. There's a lot of information here, and the pictures are well chosen.