Waubanaukee Indians first named it "Tah-wak-be-dee-ee-wadso" or Saddle Mountain. Samuel de Champlain's explorers in the 1600's called it "lion couchant" or resting lion. The name "Camel's Rump" was used on a historical map by Ira Allen in 1798, and this became "Camel's Hump" in 1830.

The Park came about as an original gift of 1000 acres including the summit from Colonel Joseph Battell, who originally bought Camel's Hump to preserve the wooded mountainous view from his home. In 1911, care of the mountain was entrusted to the State Forester who managed with the aim to keep it in a primitive state according to Battell's wish.