Genesee Park is a park in Jefferson County,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. It is the largest park in the

Denver Mountain Parks The Denver Mountain Parks system contains more than of parklands in the mountains and foothills of Jefferson, Clear Creek, Douglas, and Grand counties in Colorado, west and south of Denver. Owned and maintained by the City and County of D ...

system, with a total of . The land for Genesee Park was initially purchased in 1912 and the park area was largely complete by 1926. The park contains two mountains, Genesee Mountain at above sea level and Bald Mountain at above sea level. The park also contains forests of

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...

Douglas-fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

, and

lodgepole pine ''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpin ...

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

traverses the park between exits 252 and 254 along the Lariat Loop Scenic & Historic Byway. On I-70 just west of exit 254, there are scenic overlooks for both directions for viewing the historic

Bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

herd, which live on maintained pastures on the north and south sides of I-70. The park's bison herd is owned by the

City and County of Denver Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of ...

. Some of the original bison were acquired from

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

by the Denver Zoo and the City of Denver as early leaders in the conservation of bison. The bison herd moved here in 1914 and was expanded to Daniels Park in 1938. Thirty five bison were distributed to Native American tribes in 2023. Chief Hosa Lodge, designed by

Jacques Benedict Jules Jacques Benois Benedict (April 22, 1879 – January 16, 1948) was one of the most prominent architects in Colorado history, whose works include a number of well-known landmarks and buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Place ...

, was built in 1918. A historical point of interest near Exit 253, it is used as an event facility. The nearby Chief Hosa Campground serves recreational travelers each year between May and September. A large stone picnic shelter near Genesee Mountain was built by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

in 1939. There is a "Braille trail" area with signs and guide ropes. Snow

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

competitions were held 1921–1927 with thousands of spectators.McMillin, John (1997
Mountains of Memories, Mountains of Dreams
''Historically Jeffco'' vol 10 #18:9 Jefferson County Historical Commission

References

External links

*
Denver Mountain Parks: Genesee Park
at Denvergov.org
Genesee Park History
at Denvergov.org {{National Register of Historic Places Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado 1918 establishments in Colorado Denver Mountain Parks Protected areas of Jefferson County, Colorado Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Colorado Braille trail sites Bison herds Grasslands of Colorado

See also

References

External links