History of Colorado's Proposed Denver National Park

Containing a multitude of natural and cultural wonders that tell a unique story about the western United States within its borders, Colorado has a long association with the national parks. Of our four current designated national parks, two officially predate the creation of the National Park Service itself in 1916 (Mesa Verde, 1906 and Rocky Mountain, 1915). Colorado almost created a third national park as early as 1916, proposed under the moniker of its capital and largest city: Denver National Park.

The initial 1916 bill went nowhere, but in 1918 the Denver Mountain Parks Committee and the Chamber of Commerce renewed efforts to add the Mount Evans (now known as Mount Blue Sky) area to the park service. Having a national park situated right next to the young Denver Mountain Park system could promote traffic along the highway, boulevard, and parkway system connecting the Denver Mountain Parks to Denver’s urban parks.

In October 1918, Assistant Director of the National Park Service Horace M. Albright visited Denver and the Mount Evans district, accompanied by the superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park, the head of Denver Parks, and members of the Denver Mountain Parks Committee. The multi-day tour impressed Albright and he recommended the addition. However, the bills submitted in the United States Senate and Congress were not referred out of committee (Rogers, 1965). 

Warwick M. Downing, a Denver businessman and member of the Mountain Parks Committee, noted in a 1931 retrospective article in Denver Municipal Facts the death of the proposed national park was primarily caused by the opposition of Henry Graves, Chief Forester for the U.S. Forest Service---the federal agency that already held a lot of land in the district (Downing, 1931). Contemporary newspaper accounts reported Graves made his own tour of the district in August 1919 ("Chief of Forestry Arrives", 1919). After this visit he recommended the Forest Service immediately complete the road to Echo Lake ("U.S. to use $45,000 to Build," 1919). Between 1923 and 1931 the Forest Service extended the road all the way to the summit of Mount Evans ("Mount Evans Road Opened," 1931). 

Denverites thus lucked out. Though the area originally under consideration failed to gain national park designation, it is still largely protected and enjoyed by many - at least in the summer when the higher country is accessible.

Suggestions for further exploration

• An original map of the proposed Denver National Park can be found in manuscript collection WH1316 Denver Parks and Recreation Records, along with a wealth of other drawings, maps, documents, and photographs recording the history of the Denver Parks and Recreation Department and the Denver Mountain Parks.
• Early National Park Service proposals for adding Mount Evans as either Denver National Park or as an addition to Rocky Mountain National Park can be found in the 1918 and 1919 Annual Reports of the Director to the Secretary of the Interior.
• As Denver’s premier civic promotional newsletter, Denver Municipal Facts covered the efforts to create Denver National Park as well as the Denver Mountain Parks regularly.
• Wendy Rex-Atzet documented the birth and growth of the Denver Mountain Parks in her dissertation: Denver’s Mountain Playground: The Denver Mountain Parks, the City Beautiful, and the Rise of Modern Wilderness Recreation in Colorado, 1900-1940.

Sources cited

Chief of forestry arrives in Denver: Col. Henry Graves to inspect Mountain Parks and National Forests of Colorado. The Rocky Mountain News. (1919, August 18). p. 3.

Downing, Warwick M. (1931). How Denver acquired her celebrated Mountain Parks: A condensed history of the building of America's most unique park system. Denver Municipal Facts, 14(3-4), 12-14, 23, 28.

Mount Evans road opened for use: World's highest auto route needs work, but is passable to summit. The Rocky Mountain News. (1931, September 8). p. 10.

Rogers, Edmund B. (1965). A History of the National Parks in Colorado. The Denver Westerner's Monthly Roundup, 21(1), 1-18.

U.S. to use $46,000 to build extension to Mt. Evans road: Federal plan to have highway reach peak will be started soon; Forestry Service to ask for $50,000. The Rocky Mountain News. (1919, August 23). p. 4.