LOVELAND, Colo. — Tucked just four miles west of the entrance to the Big Thompson Canyon, Viestenz-Smith Mountain Park feels like a hidden retreat.
With rushing water, quiet trails and towering canyon walls, it's easy to overlook the rich history woven into the landscape.
But this year, the City of Loveland's mountain park is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
To learn more, Denver7 got a private tour from Michele Van Hare, environmental education coordinator for the City of Loveland.
Van Hare has spent decades working at the park, first as a seasonal employee in the late 1990s.
"It's kind of how the park got started," Van Hare said, explaining that the site once played a key role in Loveland's history.
Long before it became a public park, the land belonged to early settler Louis Papa, who established his homestead there in the late 1800s. In 1913, the property was purchased for a hydroelectric power plant, enabling the City of Loveland to generate its own electricity.
Twelve years later, in 1926, the city purchased roughly 400 acres from Papa, creating what is now Viestenz-Smith Mountain Park.
Today, visitors can still see remnants of that history, from Papa's original homestead to interpretive displays that tell the story of the park's transformation.
Across one of the park's bridges sits another treasured landmark, a nature cabin built in the 1930s. For generations, the Girls Athletic Association Cabin has introduced children and families to Colorado's wildlife through hands-on exhibits featuring native animals, birds, insects and plants.
Van Hare has watched thousands of children discover nature there over the years.
The park has also endured some of Colorado's most destructive natural disasters.
Van Hare pointed to areas recovering from 2024's Alexander Mountain Fire, where new grasses now blanket the hillsides.
Nearby, markers show how high the water reached during the devastating 1976 Big Thompson Flood. The park also suffered significant damage during the 2013 floods.
Despite those challenges, Viestenz-Smith Mountain Park has continued to recover and welcome new generations of visitors.
For Van Hare, the park's story is deeply personal.
She remembers hiking its trails while pregnant with her first child and later bringing her own family back to enjoy the same landscape she has spent decades helping others explore.
As the park marks its centennial, she hopes it will continue inspiring visitors for generations to come.
For 100 years, Viestenz-Smith Mountain Park has quietly offered a place to slow down, reconnect with nature and experience a unique piece of Loveland's history.
Through floods, wildfires and changing times, the park has remained resilient, just like the state of Colorado itself.
