Howard Hays moved west from Illinois in 1905 to seek his fortune in the healthy outdoors. After working on a ranch in Montana, he felt drawn to nearby Yellowstone National Park. Soon Hays' lifelong career as a national park concessioner and promoter of scenic tourism was launched. Hays eventually acquired the Yellowstone Park Camps Company. The Howard H. Hays papers at UW’s American Heritage Center offer a look at the life of this resilient and visionary man who shaped the early tourism industry in America's renowned national parks.