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Enos Mills

As a boy and as a man, Enos Mills (1870–1922) lived a remarkable life. His bond with nature and wildlife inspired him to overcome personal hardship and become a successful speaker, author, naturalist, businessman, and driving force behind the creation of…

Flooding in Colorado

Coloradans have maintained a complex relationship with the natural process of flooding. On one hand, inhabitants of the arid West—from early indigenous communities to current metropolitan populations—have been attracted to the many resources floodplains…

Rocky Mountain National Park

Established on January 26, 1915, Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) has for more than a century been one of the country’s most visited national parks. Mountain vistas and wilderness solitude draw millions of people every year. The park lies between…

September 2013 Floods

In September 2013, Colorado’s Front Range, from Fort Collins south to Colorado Springs, experienced some of the most dramatic and devastating floods in state history. In the hardest-hit areas, the rainfall beginning September 9 and ending September 16…

Stanley Hotel

Designed and funded by Freelan Oscar Stanley, the Stanley Hotel opened in 1909 in Estes Park. The first-class resort helped make Estes Park into a tourist destination, especially after the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park in 1915. In the…

Trail Ridge Road

Trail Ridge Road snakes roughly fifty miles across Rocky Mountain National Park, from Estes Park to Grand Lake. Planned and built from about 1929 to 1938, the road provided a safer route across the Continental Divide for the park’s growing number of…