Ensign Peak and City Creek Canyon Trail Markers

Ensign Peak rises 5,414 feet above the Salt Lake Valley on the northern edge of Salt Lake City, near the Utah State Capitol. Latter-day Saint pioneers climbed it in July 1847, just days after entering the valley, to survey the land Brigham Young had selected for settlement; the peak's name comes from that founding association with the Mormon "ensign," or standard, that Young envisioned raising there. The site is now preserved as Ensign Peak Nature Park, managed by Salt Lake City, with a trail climbing to the summit from Ensign Vista Drive. City Creek Canyon, noted on the lower trail marker, lies just east of the peak and has supplied the city with drinking water since the 19th century, its watershed still protected as a source for the municipal system.