Ensign Peak

A short hike along with a great view of the valley below is had with Ensign Peak, which is located on the mountain north of the Utah State Capitol Building in Salt Lake City.  This peak has great historical significance to the early settlers of the area.  Two days after the arrival of the Mormon pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley, President Brigham Young and eight others hiked to the summit of a nearby peak to survey the landscape below.  President Young remarked that it "was a proper place to raise an ensign to the nations," and so it was named Ensign Peak – symbolic to the biblical prophesy found in Isaiah 11:12.

On July 26, 1996, LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Ensign Peak Nature Park which included Ensign Peak and an additional 66 acres surrounding it.  It just so happened that my daughters and I decided to hike to Ensign Peak on this very day.  Dressed in hiking clothes and boots, we stumbled across a large stretch of well-manicured lawn next to a church, which had neatly aligned rows of chairs facing a large wooden stand with more chairs on it.  It was when I looked at the printed program ready to be handed out that I discovered the dedicatory service about to happen, and the individuals that would be participating in it.  Soon we noticed police motorcades cruising around the neighboring streets for security.  As it turned out, the entire First Presidency of the LDS Church and the Governor of Utah attended and participated in this event.  Following the service, my daughters and I still hiked to the summit of Ensign Peak – awestruck by the event we just witnessed.

The trailhead is accessed by driving northward on State Street in downtown Salt Lake City past the Utah State Capitol Building.  On the right (east) side of the capitol building, turn left (north) onto East Capitol Boulevard and drive through the residential area until you reach North Sandrun Drive (940 North).  Turn left (west) on this road and drive for about one block, where you will fork to the right (north) behind the LDS meetinghouse.  Drive about another half-block further where you will see the well-marked Ensign Peak Nature Park off to the right (north).  The trail ascends up a shallow ravine to a ridge overlooking the Great Salt Lake.  From this point, veer to the left (south) to reach the 5,414-foot summit of Ensign Peak.  There are plenty of resting spots along the way.  One-way distance from the nature park to the summit is about a 1/2 mile with an approximate elevation gain of 400 feet.

Daughters pose at monument
at summit of Ensign Peak

Marker on Ensign Peak monument





 



View of Salt Lake City from Ensign Peak