Today, we celebrate a monumental milestone: the 111th Birthday of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Since its establishment on January 26, 1915, RMNP has served as a sanctuary for inspiration, rugged discovery, and the spirit of the American West. But while the granite peaks of the park feel eternal, the park’s existence was never a guarantee. It was forged through the grit and vision of some incredible individuals, including several Colorado Mountain Club members.
Enos Mills at the door of the cabin he built as a teen (late 1880s) on Longs Peak, taken before his death in 1922The push for a national park in Colorado was a grassroots movement fueled by people who lived for the high country. Enos Mills, a legendary naturalist often called the "Father of Rocky Mountain National Park," was a driving force behind securing the park’s future. As one of the 25 original founding members of the CMC, Mills brought a fierce environmental conviction that helped define the club's early mission.While he was well known for his relentless solo lobbying efforts, CMC provided the collective institutional weight and organized advocacy needed to turn his vision into a legislative reality. James Grafton Rogers, CMC’s first official president and a fellow founder, actually drafted the original bill for the park’s creation, and Roger Toll was an early member who went on to become the superintendent of the park. CMC’s contribution went beyond political lobbying; they were also some of the stewards of the land's cultural history. In 1914, CMC members recognized that RMNP needed to honor the people who had moved through these valleys for centuries. In a feat of historical preservation, a group set off by train and wagon to the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming to interview Arapaho elders. Two of the elders then returned to their ancestral lands for a two-week horse pack trip through what is now RMNP. During this expedition, the elders chronicled the historical and cultural connections and provided traditional names for prominent landmarks.Members of the pack trip (left to right) Shep Husted, Gun Griswold, Sherman Sage, Tom Crispin, Oliver Toll, seated is David Hawkins. Photo from Rocky Mountain National Park.
Harriet Vaille and Edna Hendrie were CMC members and key figures in the naming expedition. They were instrumental in organizing the trip’s logistics and traveled to the reservation to conduct preliminary interviews. Their committee's work eventually resulted in the publication of Oliver Toll's Arapaho Names and Trails, a record of the park's history and part of the reason RMNP has one of the highest concentrations of Indigenous place names in the country.
Sprague Lake. NPS Photo/M.Reed
When President Woodrow Wilson signed the act to create the park in 1915, it marked the culmination of years of tireless work by devoted outdoor enthusiasts from many different backgrounds. For over a century, the club has continued this legacy, teaching generations of hikers, climbers, and conservationists how to respect and enjoy Colorado’s great outdoors.
CMC on the summit of Longs Peak at 4:30 am on August 21, 1913. Photo from History Colorado.
Happy Birthday, Rocky Mountain National Park! Here’s to another century of adventure.
Felicia Brower
