Daniels Park, Denver's representative of the Plains ecosystem, adds ecological and historical diversity to the Mountain Parks system. With elevations ranging from 6,240 to 6,582 ft ( m), it is (with Red Rocks Park) one of the lowest elevation parks in the system. Most of the park is devoted to the 800-acre preserve for the buffalo herd; another parcel is dedicated to Native American ceremonial use. Picnic grounds and public parking and use areas are at Wildcat Point and in the upper reaches of Big Dry Creek, aka Riley's Gulch. This area was settled very early, when Major D.C. Oakes established a sawmill in Riley's Gulch in 1859 to take advantage of the rich timber there. It was the second settlement in what was to become Douglas County, and the nearby "Pretty Woman Ranch" was a stage stop on the First Territorial Road from Denver to Colorado Springs. Riley Hill, named for an early pioneer, was said to be a popular lookout for outlaws spotting stages to rob in the early days. In May 1868, the famous scout Kit Carson was traveling home to Taos, New Mexico, to die. He and his friend Major Oakes stopped on Riley Hill to cook their noon meal. Carson offered to build the fire, calling it his "last campfire." He died a few days later, without reaching his home. In the 1920s, the initial 40 acres of the park was a destination and picnic spot known as "Auto View" and "Wildcat Point" and famous for its views of the Front Range. It was donated by Miss Florence Martin, a family friend of Major and Mrs. William Cook Daniels, for whom the park is named. Major Daniels was a partner in the Daniels & Fisher stores. After Miss Martin's ranch house burned in 1936, she donated the additional 960 acres to Denver. In recent years, the Castle Pines subdivision has been built immediately adjacent to the eastern boundary of Daniels Park. 9/2011 found on mountainparkshistory.org