These early hunter-gatherers likely followed the woolly mammoth into the mountainous region. The area’s first humans appeared a little over 10,000 years ago, around the time that relatively warm climes returned.
These processes formed the sheer cliffs, steep mountainsides, and deep valleys that visitors marvel at today. Ice flows stripped rock from the earth, depositing large boulders that formed ridges.
Series of glaciation and ice recession, occurring up until roughly 15,000 years ago, are primarily responsible for producing the park’s present-day scenery. Around 2 million years ago, global climate change led to the formation of glaciers. Over the next 60 million years, the Front Range was shaped and reshaped from rolling hills to small mountains through volcanic processes and erosion. The region would never lie underwater again, and gradually the earth began to reach upward. Thus began a series of geologic upheavals that would shape the Front Range and the RMNP area into what it is today. Western North America shed its seas and the ecosystems contained within. In an era that saw the extinction of the last dinosaurs, compression from westward-moving plates thrust rock and earth upward. The range of mountains that would become the Rockies began to reveal itself around 68 million years ago. The earliest species to call the region home were marine organisms. The peaks that would eventually attract so many visitors had yet to emerge. Seventy million years ago, the area that would become Colorado’s Front Range was covered by shallow sea water laden with silt it was an undramatic seascape. Although the park offers visitors timeless snapshots of the Rocky Mountain region’s natural environments, its landscapes and ecosystems have been altered and transformed by human as well as geological processes. The park also encompasses the headwaters of the Colorado River. The park lies between elevations of 7,000 and 14,259 feet, harboring plant communities ranging from grassland to alpine tundra as well as a host of large animals, including elk, black bear, mountain lions, bighorn sheep, and moose. Mountain vistas and wilderness solitude draw millions of people every year. You can also visit our sister websites for Glacier National Park and Grand Teton 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. continues to periodically add new trails and information to the website. You can also read a short excerpt from the book, or read a review from the Appalachian Mountain Club (on page 6). You can order your copy from Amazon by clicking here. The book also includes anecdotal stories of trail development in some of our oldest and most iconic national parks, such as Yellowstone and Glacier National Park. The book chronicles hiking’s roots in alpinism and mountaineering, the societal trends that fostered its growth, some of the early hikers from the nineteenth century, the first trails built specifically for recreational hiking, the formation of the first hiking clubs, as well as the evolution of hiking gear and apparel. Ramble On: A History of Hiking is the first broad historical overview of hiking in one volume. I’m very excited to announce the release of my new book on the rich history of hiking. "Ramble On: A History of Hiking" is available on Amazon If planning an overnight stay, be sure to visit our Accommodations page to find a wide variety of lodging options surrounding the park. To learn more about hiking in the Rockies and what the park has to offer, including information on hiking at altitude, a list of our top 10 hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park, as well as many other hiking and travel related articles, tips and recommendations, please visit our About RMNP page. With more than 350 miles of trails meandering throughout the park, Rocky Mountain is widely known as a hiker's paradise. Encompassing more than 265,000 acres, and with more than sixty peaks topping out at more than 12,000 feet, Rocky Mountain National Park is home to some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth.