The park was in times far past a favored campsite of the Ute tribe for it provided natural cover from the elements.

Its earliest known name was the Garden of the Angels, reputedly given to it on July 4, 1870, by Martin Van Buren Luther, a pioneer Colorado judge.

He sold it to Leonard H. Eicholtz, a civil engineer who helped build the Union Pacific Railway and who developed the property into a park in 1878.

Eicholtz added roads, trails, picnic grounds, steps, and ladders so visitors could explore the park.

City planner George Cranmer oversaw the development, securing federal funding and establishment of a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp at Mount Morrison to facilitate the construction of the park's features.