20-499: Lookout Mountain Park is a Denver Mountain Park located around 12 miles (20 km) west of downtown Denver overlooking Golden, Colorado . It consists of 65.7 acres (266,000 m) of evergreen wilderness atop Lookout Mountain , named for its being a favored lookout point of the native Ute Indian tribe. Lookout Mountain Park is the burial site of the internationally famous western frontiersman William Frederick " Buffalo Bill " Cody, and
40-1017: A guide to the system. Denver Mountain Parks: 100 Years of the Magnificent Dream was released August 1, 2013, by John Fielder Publishing. 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. Genesee Park (Colorado) Genesee Park
60-549: 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 , purchased in 1927-28; O'Fallon Park and Newton Park, donated in 1939; and Winter Park , purchased in 1939. Daniels Park
80-576: A testament to Buffalo Bill's global appeal even a century after his Wild West exhibition last performed. Denver Mountain Parks The Denver Mountain Parks system contains more than 14,000 acres (5,700 ha) of parklands in the mountains and foothills of Jefferson , Clear Creek , Douglas , and Grand counties in Colorado , west and south of Denver . Owned and maintained by the City and County of Denver , this historic system
100-867: 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 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 . 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. Beginning in about 1909-10,
120-654: Is a park in Jefferson County , Colorado . It is the largest park in the Denver Mountain Parks system, with a total of 2,413 acres (9.77 km ). The land for Genesee Park was initially purchased in 1912 and the park area was largely complete by 1926. The park contains two mountains, Genesee Mountain at 8,284 feet (2,525 m) above sea level and Bald Mountain at 7,988 feet (2,435 m) above sea level. The park also contains forests of ponderosa pine , Douglas-fir , and lodgepole pine . Interstate 70 traverses
140-551: Is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . In 1889, a group of prominent area businessmen and residents proposed the idea of creating a mountain park as a getaway point for people from the urban city. After a lively competition between Lookout Mountain and Eden Park in Jefferson County west of Denver, Lookout Mountain was chosen for the honor. Plans were commissioned from famed architect Frederick Law Olmsted ,
160-518: The Lariat Loop Scenic & Historic Byway . The designated parks are listed at National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Colorado . 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
180-592: The Denver Zoo and the City of Denver as early leaders in the conservation of bison . The bison herd moved here in 1914 and was expanded to Daniels Park in 1938. Thirty five bison were distributed to Native American tribes in 2023. Chief Hosa Lodge, designed by Jacques Benedict , was built in 1918. A historical point of interest near Exit 253, it is used as an event facility. The nearby Chief Hosa Campground serves recreational travelers each year between May and September. A large stone picnic shelter near Genesee Mountain
200-449: 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
220-536: The designer of Central Park in New York City , to create a naturalistic resort park for the area public to enjoy. Although the area for the original Lookout Mountain Park, as it became commonly known, was acquired by the syndicate, little manmade construction took place since finances were stymied by the Silver Crash of 1893. After languishing due to this and the deaths of its aging stockholders, Lookout Mountain Park
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#1732858198410240-711: 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
260-726: 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 . 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
280-419: 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
300-467: The park between exits 252 and 254 along the Lariat Loop Scenic & Historic Byway . On I-70 just west of exit 254, there are scenic overlooks for both directions for viewing the historic Bison herd, which live on maintained pastures on the north and south sides of I-70. The park's bison herd is owned by the City and County of Denver . Some of the original bison were acquired from Yellowstone National Park by
320-488: Was acquired by Denver, which became the new Lookout Mountain Park for Denver. After existing briefly side by side, the bankrupt remaining original park passed by the wayside and Denver's park has been popularly known as Lookout Mountain Park. Since then much of the area of the original park has been reacquired for park purposes as part of Jefferson County Open Space . "Buffalo Bill" Cody, who spent his final years living in Denver,
340-421: Was acquired by businessman Rees Vidler, who constructed a funicular incline railway to the top along with other attractions. With the advent of the Denver Mountain Parks system, Lookout Mountain was quickly eyed by the city, whose efforts were led by Mayor Robert W. Speer who earlier sat on the board of Lookout Mountain Park during the early efforts. In 1917 a portion of what earlier was Lookout Mountain Park
360-608: Was also expanded at that time. The major parks in the system were designated to the National Register of Historic Places 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
380-468: Was buried at Lookout Mountain Park on June 3, 1917. It is disputed whether Cody was buried here by his own request or by coercion, and it is not known if the exact site was chosen by his sister. In 1921, the gravesite was joined by Pahaska Tepee , a large and rustic wooden lodge designed by Edwin H. Moorman, housing the Buffalo Bill Museum . The museum continues to host visitors from around the world,
400-459: 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
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