History

Our Past…

The history of Red Rock Canyon is a story of people making use of the area’s resources, location, and topography. The high Dakota sandstone hogback with its steep east face provided the Utes with places to stand watch over the plains from defensible positions. Gypsum mines and stone quarries provided building materials for Colorado City and the developing West. Proximity to the Colorado Midland Railroad facilitated the shipment of building stone and led to the construction of mills at the base of the hogbacks for milling Cripple Creek gold.

The Red Rock Canyon trail system includes a 3.72 mile history theme trail loop. The master plan map below shows this trail. Historic sites on the map are numbered to correspond to the numbered story links.

Interpretive signs are located at the 31st Street Trailhead and near the open air pavilion.