Long before colonization, the area surrounding the Garden of the Gods was the ancestral homeland of several Indigenous peoples. For the Ute people, the site held deep spiritual significance; they resided at what is now Rock Ledge Ranch while journeying to a sacred site in Manitou Springs.
Interest in the region grew over several centuries. Spanish explorers first documented the area's unique geology in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Following the Louisiana Purchase, the United States dispatched explorers to survey the terrain, including notable expeditions led by Zebulon Pike in 1806, Stephen H. Long in the 1820s, and John C. Frémont in the 1840s.
The park's iconic name originated in 1858 during a surveying trip by M.S. Beach and Rufus Cable, who were scouting locations for a new town. Upon encountering the striking red rock formations, Beach suggested the area would make an excellent beer garden. Cable famously countered that it was "a place fit for the gods to assemble," inspiring the name "Garden of the Gods." This exploration fueled the founding of nearby Colorado City, known today as Old Colorado City.
In 1871, railroad tycoon William Jackson Palmer founded Colorado Springs, envisioning it as a resort town with the Garden of the Gods as its central attraction. He persuaded his business partner, Charles Elliot Perkins, to purchase 240 acres of the land in 1879. Instead of developing it, Perkins chose to preserve its natural beauty, expanding his holdings and keeping the space open to visitors. Following his death, Perkins’ children donated the land to the City of Colorado Springs in 1909, fulfilling his wish that it remain "forever free to the world."
Ref Colorado Encyclopedia
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