Red Rocks Park District | |
 Red Rocks area from Dakota Ridge | |
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| Location | Morrison, Colorado |
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| Coordinates | 39°39′41″N105°12′29″W / 39.66139°N 105.20806°W /39.66139; -105.20806 |
| Area | 659 acres (267 ha) (landmarked area) |
| Built | 1928; 97 years ago (1928) |
| Architect | Hoyt, Burnham; Rosche, W. R. |
| Architectural style | Pueblo |
| MPS | Denver Mountain Parks MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 90000725[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 18, 1990 |
| Designated NHL | August 4, 2015 |
Red Rocks Park is a mountain park inJefferson County, Colorado, owned and maintained by the city ofDenver as part of theDenver Mountain Parks system. The park is known for its very large redsandstone outcrops. Many of theserock formations within the park have names, from the mushroom-shaped Seat of Pluto to the inclined Cave of the Seven Ladders. The most visited rocks, aroundRed Rocks Amphitheatre, are Creation Rock to the north, Ship Rock to the south, and Stage Rock to the east.
The red sandstone found throughout Red Rocks Park is geologically identified as belonging to theFountain Formation.[2] OtherColorado examples of Fountain Formation geology include nearbyRoxborough State Park,Garden of the Gods nearColorado Springs, and theFlatirons nearBoulder. The rocks were formed about 290-296 million years ago when theAncestral Rocky Mountains were eroded during thePennsylvanian epoch. Later, uplift during theLaramide orogeny tilted the rocks to the angle at which they sit today.
An Army expedition led byStephen Long discovered present-day Red Rocks in 1820. The park was in times far past a favored campsite of theUte tribe for it provided natural cover from the elements. Its earliest known name was theGarden of the Angels, reputedly given to it on July 4, 1870, by Martin Van Buren Luther, a pioneer Colorado judge. In 1872, Marion Burts became the first recorded owner of Red Rocks. He sold it toLeonard H. Eicholtz, acivil engineer who helped build theUnion Pacific Railway and who developed the property into a park in 1878. Eicholtz added roads, trails, picnic grounds, steps, and ladders so visitors could explore the park.[3] In 1906, Eicholtz sold Red Rocks to famed editorJohn Brisben Walker which he purchased with proceeds from his sale ofCosmopolitan magazine; Walker organized concerts on a temporary platform at the Garden of the Titans. Known however by the folk name ofRed Rocks since the area was settled, it was formally given that name when Denver acquired it in 1928 from Walker.
Within the park boundaries is the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, a venue used since 1941. The Amphitheater was designed by Burnam Hoyt within the area between two massive slabs of Red stone (Ship Rock and Creation Rock).
Denver Mayor Ben Stapleton resisted developing the already beautiful Red Rocks but the city used Depression-eraNew Deal funding and resources to build out the park, as part of the development of the Denver Mountain Parks system. City planner George Cranmer oversaw the development, securing federal funding and establishment of aCivilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp at Mount Morrison to facilitate the construction of the park's features. CCC crews were responsible for building out the early roads and the amphitheater, as well as a Pueblo-style concession stand.[4] The park along with surviving CCC camp (which is one of the best preserved of such camps) were designated aNational Historic Landmark in 2015.[5]
There are several short, pedestrian-only trails in the park: Funicular Trail, Geologic Overlook Trail, Mt. Vernon Creek Trail, Red Rocks Trail, and the Trading Post Trail. Other multi-use trails are open to mountain bikes, horses, and leashed dogs.[6][7][8]
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