South Park National Heritage

Discover the magic of South Park's heritage, history, and resources. South Park is a high mountain valley surrounded by towering ranges of the Rocky Mountains less than a two-hour drive from the Front Range cities of Denver and Colorado Springs. Rich in plant life, the area hosts three rare species found nowhere else in the world and is home to one of the largest stands of Bristlecone pines in the United States. South Park is remarkable not only for its wealth of natural and cultural resources, but as a place that continues to embody the soul of the Western frontier. The largest of Colorado’s three parcs—so named by French fur trappers and mountain men who found it to be a favorite grazing area for game—South Park has drawn people to its riches for thousands of years and residents still depend on the land for their livelihood, recreation, and quality of life.