Much of this area was planned as an experiment in conservation of the natural environment and as an educational tool for studying botany, geology, and outdoor living.

[2][3] From 1883 to 1916, annual conferences took place at Mohonk Mountain House, sponsored by Albert Smiley, to improve the living standards of Native American Indian populations.

The Haverford College library holds 22,000 records from the 34 conference reports for researchers and students of American history.

According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, "Through its buildings and roads, its land, and its spirit, Mohonk exemplifies America's history and culture.

[15] Mohonk Mountain House has hosted many famous visitors including industrialist John D. Rockefeller, financier Charles A. Schmutz,[16] naturalist John Burroughs, industrialist Andrew Carnegie, prolific author Isaac Asimov,[17] and American presidents Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester A. Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and Bill Clinton.

[21] `Abdu'l-Bahá, the eldest son of Baháʼí Faith founder Bahá'u'lláh, stayed there in 1912 during the Lake Mohonk Conference on International Arbitration as part of his journeys to the West.

[22] William James Roe II described the resort as a "palace of peace" after his stay there, writing an article of the same name, published in Harper's Young People.

[citation needed] Dee Snider of Twisted Sister fame often enjoys vacations at Mohonk with his family.

[citation needed] Ada Louise Huxtable, an architectural critic for The New York Times, also visited the resort, calling it "unspoiled" and praising its ability to capture the picturesque and sublime.