Horseshoe Park: This flat valley at the base of the Mummy Range (8,500') was created by a former glacial lake created by a terminal moraine. Sediments filled the lake and created the smooth valley floor. Fall River twists and turns through the valley floor making more than several horseshoe shaped turns from which the name undoubtedly sprang.
Willard H. Ashton acquired land in the valley to build the Horseshoe Inn in 1907. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright to blend in with the surroundings. In 1931, the Park gained the land and raised the buildings, restoring Horshoe Park to its natural state. It's hard to believe that so much of the Park, prior to becoming a national park, was privately owned and dotted with buildings.
Horseshoe Park is a popular grazing place for elk, and a special parking lot has been built opposite the meadow to allow people to observe and hear the elk bugling their song in the Fall.
It was also the scene of the disastrous Lawn Lake Flood in 1982 in which the dam above the valley broke and released tons of debris and millions of gallons of water on the valley floor. Three people were killed and much damage done to the terrain and Park buildings.#
