The Colter Bay Developed Area, situated on the northeastern shore of Jackson Lake, is one of the most visited areas within Grand Teton National Park. Due to age and lack of maintenance, the facilities became outdated and needed improvements to meet modern standards and serve the needs of the increasing diversity and number of visitors to the area. Circulation issues contributed to potentially unsafe congestion in front of key locations such as the general store, marina, and visitor center. The existing trail network within the developed area was inadequate to provide pedestrian access to recreation and services, while protecting both natural and cultural values.
 
DHM Design is leading the Area Development Plan and Environmental Assessment, which provided a comprehensive long-term vision for the Colter Bay Developed Area that addressed visitor need and recreation in tandem with cultural and natural resource protection. The primary goals of this planning effort address facility and utility upgrades, improve vehicular and pedestrian circulation between key locations, and maximize the Colter Bay Developed Area for increased visitation and recreation.
 
DHM supported the development of the master plan and led the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis, a comprehensive Cultural Landscape Report, and schematic design development. The plan will be developed in compliance with federal environmental regulations, including the National Environmental Policy Act, which will require an Environmental Assessment be completed as part of the effort. As a result, the DHM Ecological Services team is completing required ecological field surveys, including a wetland delineation, rare plant survey, and tree health assessment. Several resource reports, technical documents, and cartographic products will be created as a result of the surveys, including a Biological Assessment for compliance with the Endangered Species Act. The project will involve extensive public outreach and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure that the plan reflects the needs and values of the local community, park visitors, and the environment. Ultimately, the project aims to balance the needs of visitors with the protection and preservation of the park’s natural and cultural resources.

At Rocky Mountain National Park, our guiding principle is to safeguard its ecological and cultural treasures. We have worked with the park staff to promote sustainable practices, remove unsuitable structures, enhance visitor experiences, and restore the park’s natural splendor. Since its establishment in 1915, it has been known as a “living showcase of the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains” and was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Over the past decade, DHM has worked in dozens of locations within the park, improving key services, upgrading infrastructure, and restoring the land to its natural beauty. Following the East Troublesome Fire in 2020, we are also tasked with reconstructing critical facilities and sites, including the Grand Lake Entrance Station, Colorado River District Barn, housing units, and the Moraine Park Campground, ensuring these enhancements blend with the park’s natural and historical ethos. We worked with interdisciplinary teams to design the Kawuneeche Visitor Center, Moraine Park Amphitheater, and add a new restroom to the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. Above all we prioritize accessibility, environmental integration, and maintaining the integrity of historic structures.

DHM has worked on numerous projects throughout Zion National Park . One of the major on-going projects is planning for the entire South Entrance Area at Zion National Park in Springdale, UT. We have completed projects at Watchman Campground, the Visitor Center, Emerald Pools, and Weeping Rock. Conceptual plans have been created for entry stations, a new roundabout, campgrounds, vehicular and pedestrian bridges, trails, bike access, entry road and parking areas. The designs will improve wayfinding for visitors to the main transit hub and visitor center. These options reflect core National Park Service values for visitor experience and natural resources preservation. With rapid growth of visitation in Zion National Park, the Park’s shuttle system is experiencing heavy use. The queue lines can stretch across the entire Visitor Center plaza. To enhance sustainability of the system, Zion is going to phase in new electric buses. A Shuttle Stop needed to be reconfigured to accommodate the larger turning radii of the new buses. To improve visitor comfort, shade shelters and seating will be added. The plaza for pick-up and drop-off will be expanded with improved accommodations for Park staff that are assisting visitors.

Watchman Campground Loop E is the group portion of the campground at the Park. The enhanced campground accommodates up to 240 people and parking is provided for up to 50 cars. RV and camper trailer spaces, and tent spaces are provided at the campground site. Each of the seven group sites in the campground hosts at least one picnic shelter, one multi-pedestal ADA grill, and one ADA fire ring. The campground features crusher fines camping areas with a smooth curved concrete edge and boulders to encourage park guests to stay within the designated camping areas and allow native vegetation to regrow in the surrounding area. A new road was also developed as part of this project; allowing easier access for large recreational vehicles in the campground. DHM has also recently completed designs for Loop A and Loop B, construction is in progress.

DHM was also tasked with evaluation of routes and design of trail/wall improvements for the historic Emerald Pools Trails Complex. There were a number of landslides that closed the Middle Emerald Pools Trail in 2010. DHM is working on rerouting the trail to reopen the loop and potentially extend the trail on a rediscovered historic route. Currently, there is access to all of the pools from the Lower Emerald Pools trail, however it is heavily congested as it is one of the easiest scenic trails within the Park. It is projected that about 2 million visitors will use the trail per year. DHM led the ‘Choosing By Advantages’ workshop and completed a Mini Value Analysis report. Opening up the route and extending the trail will provide much needed relief to the system.

Along the Gunnison River, Curecanti National Recreation Area included a series of three reservoirs best known for water-based recreation such as salmon and trout fishing, but also offered hiking, boating, camping, and bird watching. The Elk Creek Visitor Center, located within the recreation area, provided park information, boat permits, interpretive displays, a book store, reservations for boat tours, etc. DHM designed improvements for accessibility to the visitor center as well as a general rehabilitation for the facility and its adjacent courtyard. Three design concepts were generated for the courtyard. Options included elements of rock wall, seat wall, and an amphitheater. The design reduced overall disturbance as feasible, and landscape disturbed by construction was restored to a native vegetated condition. In keeping with the native landscape and how the landscape is managed today, minimal evergreen and deciduous trees strategically located to maintain open views from the visitor center.

The Charles Young House, also known as Youngsholm, is significant as the home of Charles Young, a graduate of West Point who was the highest ranking African American in the U.S. Army from 1894 to 1922. This project will preserve and rehabilitate the historic 4,500 square feet of Youngsholm to its period of significance of 1907-1922. The work will include restoration and reconstruction of historic features, along with the repair and retrofitting of interior spaces. Historic elements recommended for restoration and reconstruction include Queen Anne style window sashes, the ornamental concrete block front porch, the glass conservatory and the pergola and fountain. Features included in the rehabilitation are upgrades to electrical, lighting, heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC), and security systems.

DHM Design completed the Development Concept Plan for Cedar Pass Area of Badlands National Park, South Dakota, to define appropriate uses and functions of the space. The goal of the project was to establish a consistent, unified character for future development and create a road map to guide decisions on capital improvements and preservation. The team examined and provided appropriate improvements for the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, park administrative buildings, park housing, Cedar Pass Lodge and associated outbuildings and cabins, and a park campground and amphitheater while keeping with the park area’s cultural landscape. While developing the DCP, there were concurrent reports and studies including an Environmental Assessment, Historic Structures Report, updates to the site design guidelines and Cultural Landscape Report, Market Analysis, and Business Plan. The process was unique and will set a precedent for future Development Concept Plans and collaborative information gathering and goal setting from multiple resource perspectives.

DHM is working with NPS, and leading the design team, to establish and understand the overall design and construction effort to improve/replace the existing gravel walkways of the National Mall to meet Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standards (ABAAS) to better accommodate visitors, events and demonstrations, and minimize impacts to turf and tree panels. Meeting ABAAS standards is important to achieving the objectives outlined in the National Mall Plan. Being mindful of the historic landscape and protecting in place the newly restored central turf panels, approximately 5 miles of public walkways are anticipated to be brought into compliance. The project will widen some walks and pave some turf or hard packed dirt areas to provide visitor orientation and interpretation, rest opportunities, and additional paved surfaces for events. The project goals also include minimizing on-going maintenance, implementing long term, sustainable drainage solutions, and tying into the existing cistern infrastructure for irrigation and stormwater management in the D.C. climate. In addition, the project will improve infrastructure and install conduits for events and visitor services such as restrooms and irrigation systems and grounding locations for temporary event systems.

DHM Design has worked with our consultant team on many projects in Yellowstone National Park, from landscape assessments to lodging and employee housing. The projects highlighted below indicate our expertise in this environment:

Fishing Bridge Campground: DHM Design implemented the preferred alternative of the Renovation of Fishing Bridge RV Park to update and improve the existing campground facilities and RV sites.

Canyon Village Lodging Redevelopment: The Canyon Village Lodging Redevelopment Plan replaces the 410 obsolete cabin-style lodging units (constructed in 1957) with an equal number of units consolidated into five larger buildings, built in the grand lodge tradition of the National Park Service. A new registration building was constructed, and circulation and parking has been improved.  The total accommodation mix has three types of units, including 60 budget rooms with common baths, 340 standard rooms, and 10 deluxe two-bedroom units. The project was constructed with modular factory-built construction and assembled at the site to accommodate the short construction season and harsh winter environment.

Maintained Landscape Assessment: DHM assessed the components, features, equipment, systems, etc. associated with the landscape, enabling park management to better understand potential key cost drivers. The inventory included all government-owned, concessioner-managed facilities related to 900 structures and 1300 campsites. Information gathered from this assessment assists the NPS Commercial Services Program in the management of existing concessions contracts and as a basis for establishing a framework for new leases.

Employee Housing Master Plan: As part of their nationwide effort to improve facilities for their employees, the National Park Service undertook a comprehensive effort to plan for improved communities focusing on employee housing and support facilities. For each of the 10 communities, a careful evaluation was made of man-made and natural conditions. From this evaluation, up to three alternative sites for each new or renovated community were identified. A master plan, environmental assessment, and associated design guidelines were then prepared for each community.

DHM worked with the National Park Service to provide enhanced pedestrian circulation that protects the natural environment at Little Round Top. The battle on July 2nd, 1863 has been hailed as a turning point in the Civil War. With its rocky terrain and rolling fields, Little Round Top persists today as a symbol of valor and bloodshed, perseverance and sacrifice.  Little Round Top is one of the most heavily visited sites within Gettysburg National Military Park. The volume of visitors to Little Round Top exceeded the capacity of existing roads and paths causing significant damage to the cultural and natural resources.  The project goals were to eliminate safety concerns and resource damage, use existing features to control pedestrian traffic, stabilize foundations of markers and monuments, realign pedestrian walkways to commemorative era road alignments and accessible routes, and protect the fragile natural environment.

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, in Kiowa County, Colorado was established in 2007 to preserve and protect the cultural significance of the Sand Creek Massacre, enhance public understanding, and minimize similar incidents in the future.  Initial site assessments and planning documents prepared by the National Park Service identified management zones including; development, contemplative, sensitive resource, resource preservation and learning zones. Working within the planning framework, DHM further refined and developed the preliminary concepts into construction documents to provide visitor experience improvements through accessible, interpretive opportunities at Monument Hill, the primary visitor interpretive area.  Due to the exposed nature of the site, numerous studies were conducted to evaluate wind, sun and viewsheds.  The design team refined walk widths and routes for both an intimate contemplative experience and for larger gatherings such as the Annual Spiritual Healing Run.  Parking lot improvements were refined and designed for personal vehicles, RV/Campers, and buses while accommodating overflow parking areas and future expansion.

Since 1886, the Statue of Liberty’s Pedestal rests atop star-shaped Fort Wood, which is visited by over 4 million people annually. In need of functional and aesthetic maintenance, DHM managed a team of engineering and architectural consultants to clean, repair and in some cases replace the prominent granite-faced masonry walls and coping stones. The Fort Wood Walls represent the most prominent surviving vestige of the former Fort Wood military post; and possess engineering significance as an example of an early United States star-shaped fortification. This project will help preserve the historic Fort Wood Walls of granite, protect a safe and enjoyable visitor experience, and sustain a world renowned symbol of hope.

The team also worked on the Terreplein, the level space where a battery of guns was mounted, inside Fort Wood and flat and vertical work at additional 2.5 and 3P levels. Work included removal and replacement of pavers and waterproofing at the exterior levels of Fort Wood to halt and prevent leaks, helping to preserve the Fort’s structure. As the Prime Contract holder, DHM worked with the design lead, and supported the team through the alternatives development and supplemental services, facilitated the VA, and coordinated QA/QC of deliverables per NPS workflow requirements from the architecture, engineering and preservation specialty disciplines.

We see grandeur and stark beauty almost everywhere we look in our National Parks, Forests, and Monuments. It’s why we visit them ourselves. And it’s why millions come every year from other regions and countries. Our priceless lands offer stunning vistas and life-changing encounters with nature. These places can get crowded, and their infrastructures wear down and out over time.

We have been working since our earliest days as a firm, improving facilities and protecting nature. The goal is always to give visitors opportunities to explore at their own pace, while protecting delicate habitat. It requires interdisciplinary collaboration, grounded in a sustainable ethos — and typically, gestures so subtle that they just get out of the way.

We ask ourselves, “How would we want to feel this place for the first time?” And then we let the nature of the place do the talking.

The historic Quarry Visitor Center, built over and around one of the best collections of Jurassic dinosaur fossils in the world was closed in 2006 due to significant life, health, and safety issues.  DHM was brought on board to help lead the park staff through a series of design approaches for this most sensitive of sites, to determine necessary changes in program and function, and to define the character of the project as a whole. New program goals include establishing a more efficient staff operation and cohesive visitor experience.  The Quarry Visitor Center was rehabilitated as an exhibit hall, while the existing contact station was partially demolished and remodeled into the new visitor center.  The site plan and program now encourages visitors to park at the new Quarry Visitor Center and take a small guided tour bus up to the Quarry Exhibit Hall. New interpretive panels and signage provide information about the immediate resources and inform the visitor of additional amenities that can be explored during their stay.  Throughout the design process the DHM team and the NPS collaborated to pursue the highest level of sustainable building practices on this project.

Mather Point is the first glimpse of the Grand Canyon viewed by thousands of visitors from all over the world. The Grand Canyon Visitor Center and Mather Point planning and design efforts allow for the restoration and enhancement of native and historically significant landscape along the south rim. The design creates ABAAS access to the Mather Point east overlook, improves transportation and utilizes innovative sustainable strategies that are an integral part of the visitor experience and natural resource protection. The first phase established the shuttle bus transit center and 800 car/40 tour bus parking facility. The second phase removed parking and drives adjacent to Mather Point and reestablished a safe and clear pedestrian connection between the rim and the center.

Every planning and design decision to renovate the Visitor Center at Mount Rushmore National Memorial was evaluated and guided by a philosophy that fiercely resisted disturbing its natural and cultural resources. The designers incorporated a building and parking program forty percent greater than the existing facilities into a heavily vegetated mountain site without putting more pressure on the landscape setting.

The aptly designated “Shrine of Democracy” that overlooks the Black Hills of South Dakota had literally been loved to death over the last sixty years. Designed to accommodate 2,000 visitors per day, the quartet of presidents on Mount Rushmore watched everyone from tourists to history buffs to schoolchildren march through the gates at a rate as high as 5,000 visitors per hour. The visitor experience at the memorial was consequently deteriorating at an alarming rate, as issues of accessibility, maintenance, capacity and environmental strains escalated to a point where they did not meet acceptable standards. Three main design criteria were restated throughout the project: accessibility, reduction of visual impacts, and return of the prime viewing to the Memorial.