Garden of the Gods Park
The beauty of Garden of the Gods Park, with its dramatic red rock formations framing Pikes Peak, serves as a magnificent eastern gateway to Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. The park’s towering red sandstone rocks have long been recognized as a landmark. American Indian people often gathered to stay in the shadow of the red rocks and to enjoy the abundance of plants and wildlife. Early European explorers, miners, and settlers also reveled in the beauty of what we now know as Garden of the Gods Park.
In the early 1900s, Charles Elliot Perkins declared his wish to his children that the Garden of the Gods be given to the citizens of Colorado Springs and that the Park should remain “forever free to all the people of the world.” One hundred years later, his act of goodwill has fostered generations of local citizens and international visitors who appreciate its beauty and natural and cultural resources.
The grand vision of Colorado Springs’ Founder William Jackson Palmer was to create an environment of parks and open spaces that would enrich the lives of all those who visited. Both Palmer’s grand vision and Charles Elliot Perkins’s dream are realized in Garden of the Gods Park. In 1972, Garden of the Gods was designated a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
In 2009, the City of Colorado Springs will mark 100 years of preserving, restoring, maintaining and interpreting the invaluable natural and cultural resources of our locally-treasured, nationally-significant and internationally known City Park. This Centennial Celebration will also provide an opportunity for today’s citizens to renew their dedication to protect the distinctive features of Garden of the Gods Park and to support the stewardship of public lands for future generation.
Marker is on Gateway Road, on the right when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
