Old Man Mountain was known to early Native Americans as ‘Man Mountain’ and is the oldest documented sacred Indian site in Colorado. A University of Colorado [CU] study team, using carbon dating techniques, established that artifacts left on the Mountain dated back some 10,000 years.

Early Native Americans generally named landmark type objects based on references to nature. [Sign language was the primary {only} common language between the hundreds of different Indian tribes and bands, and it was necessary that the vocabulary be based on common experiences and/or knowledge.]

Man Mountain’s name was based on the human-like faces; one facing the North and a larger face facing the South. These faces are visible only from the Elkhorn Lodge area, which is located on the ancient Indian trail leading to the Rocky Mountains. The Mountain served as a ‘road sign’ for travelers as well as a sacred site. Another example is Long’s Peak which the Indians called ‘Beaver Mountain’, because of the image of a beaver climbing the Eastern face. The Indian names were deliberately changed to Anglo names by in the 1850’s, U S Army surveyor, Col. S. Long; there should be no surprise how this Anglo name was determined.

Around 1900 the Elkhorn owners, along with other interested Estes residents [population of approx. 100] arranged for the elders of the Arapaho Tribe from the Wind River Reservation for interviews on their ancient use and history of the Estes area. These interviews presented the first ‘white-man’ evidence that Man Mountain was a sacred site used for “vision quests”.

During the 1930’s, prior to current archeological scientific standards, Estes residents collected ‘boxes” of artifacts from Man Mountain to preserve the artifacts from destruction or theft. Many of these items remain in the archives in various institutions in Colorado, including the RMNPark, CU, & Denver Museums.

The 1976 CU study by James Benedict showed [1] many Indian tribes used the mountain; [2] there were substantial variety of rocks foreign to the area - many traceable to specific locations such as quarries in Wyoming and other distant locations; and [3] the mountain had been used for thousands of years. The study conducted that the foreign rocks probably had to do with the vision quest process such as use in a sweat lodge which is frequently an integral Indian vision quest procedure.

In 1996 Rick Williams, a recognized authority on our heritage and history, whose professional accomplishments included being selected as the narrator on the Indian portions of “How the West Was Won”, {the PBS mini-series}, spent time reviewing the potential significance of Man Mountain in terms of Indian history. His preliminary conclusions were that the mountain was indeed significant in terms of Indian religious heritage and history and that present-day Native Americans might wish to restrict access to the Mountain to only Indians for religious and spiritual purposes. Dr. Williams also, for the first time, provided a satisfactory answer to the large numbers of foreign rocks found on the mountain. Traditionally, in prehistoric times, the Indians traveling to Man Mountain, possibly for a vision quest or other spiritual objective, would bring a gift or something of value, as a donation to the spirits and/or to demonstrate the sincerity of their pilgrimage. These gifts were frequently unique rocks from their home locations, and each family or band would stack their rocks in a pile or a pyramid. Careful inspections will show small piles of rocks remaining in those areas especially difficult to access.

The summit of Man Mountain is owned by the State of Colorado, under the management of the University of Northern Colorado. Over recent years the State has prohibited persons from accessing the Mountain, and “no trespass” signs remain today. The Elkhorn Lodge & Guest Ranch, after a 4-years of litigation, obtained a Court Order granting the Elkhorn and its guests /generally the public/ permanent access to the horse and hiking trails through the property, including the ascent trails to the request that hikers have some knowledge of the religious significance of the area and show an appropriate degree of respect for the thousands of years of religious protocol that has occurred on and around the Mountain. [Elkhorn Lodge 1998]

[Note: the Elkhorn’s guided trail rides include trails through the Man Mountain State of Colorado properties. These trails lead to Elkhorn’s entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park.]