The first attempts to make this a protected area date back to the 1930s but stalled until the mid 1960s, which marked the adoption of the Forest Code. It was yet another 20 years until the late 1980s that the suggestion of turning some of this area into a State Park occurred.

UNESCO declared the Forest a Biosphere Reserve of the Atlantic Forest in 1992, but it was not until 2001 that the State of Rio declared it a State Park in some parts - it was completed and subsequently the other areas were named State Parks in 2005 and 2013.