City of Rocks National Reserve - Facts and Designations

Facts and Designations

The Idaho Legislature declared Section 36 within City of Rocks as a state park under the jurisdiction of the Idaho Lands Board on February 27, 1957. In 1964, a much larger area was designated a national historic landmark. On March 15, 1973, Section 36 was transferred to the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation from the Department of Lands. The following year, the area was designated a national natural landmark. The National Park Service studied the site in the 1970s and 80s as a proposed national monument.

City of Rocks National Reserve was created November 18, 1988 by Public Law 100-696, Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act of 1988. This Act drew a 22-mile (35 km) boundary around 14,407 acres (58.30 km2) owned or managed by the USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR), and private individuals. All lands owned by the United States within the Reserve boundaries were placed under the authority of the National Park Service (NPS). Between 1988 and 1996, the Reserve was co-managed by both NPS and IDPR. After the approval of a comprehensive management plan, the NPS officially transferred on-site management of the Reserve to IDPR on May 2, 1996. Today, the park functions under a unique cooperative agreement between the NPS and IDPR. Both agencies allocate partial funding to its operation. City of Rocks National Reserve is visited annually by over 80,000 visitors. The Reserve headquarters is located in the gateway community of Almo.