Normally, when you’re celebrating someone’s hundredth birthday, you’re not talking about climbing mountains. The hundredth birthday Rocky Mountain National Park, however, is a little different than most birthdays. Back in 1915, on January 26th, Woodrow Wilson signed Rocky Mountain National park into law. People were visiting the gorgeous Rocky Mountains far before 1915, but that’s the date when Wilson made things official. 

Rocky Mountain National park is huge. To give you a basic idea, here’s a few interesting stats:

• More than 260,000 acres of unfathomable beauty.
• Includes sixty mountains that stand above 12,000 feet. The highest mountain is Longs Peak, which stands 14,259 feet tall.
• There are a total of 586 designated campgrounds and 167 backcountry campsites
• Includes one hundred and forty seven lakes, totaling in 1,151 acres of lake space.
• Rocky Mountain National Park received its highest number of annual visitors ever last year, totaling at a whopping 3.4 million guests in 2014.

via fhwa.dot.gov

In a world of constant development and city building, it’s a great accomplishment that such a huge piece of nature has been conserved. Sure, the glaciers did most of the work when they carved out the mountains thousands of years ago, but it has taken a lot of hard work to maintain it.

Much like preserving a famous painting, the forest service has to work hard to preserve such a gorgeous national park. Education rangers, law enforcement rangers, carpenters, mechanics, biologists, administrators, engineers, resource specialists, and volunteers all work together to maintain the park for millions of visitors every year.

via BobDentPhotography.com

In the coming year, Rocky Mountain National Park is hosting a slew of events and even has a website for visitors to post their own RMNP stories. It’s incredible to be living so close to one of the world’s most beautiful landmarks, and it’s even more incredible to see the dedicated people who keep the park in proper shape.

Sam Skelton Chief Technology Officer