Fur Trappers and Traders

Long before the pioneers, the mountain men came — and one of them found the lake. Trappers working for William Ashley ranged this country in the 1820s, among them Étienne Provost, Jedediah Smith, and Jim Bridger, who in 1824 is long credited as the first white man to reach the Great Salt Lake, tasting its brine and wondering if he'd struck the Pacific. These men were far from the first people here — the valley's Native bands knew it well — but they opened it to the world that followed. This tablet honors them.

What the plaque says

Fur trappers and traders were the first white men in this locality. William H. Ashley and men arrived in the spring of 1829. The principal leaders were James Bridger - Etienne Provost Jedediah S. Smith James Bridger, discoverer of the Great Salt Lake in 1824, trapped the streams of this region in 1824 and many subsequent years. Jedediah S. Smith with Harrison G. Rogers and fur party passed near here in August 1826, moving southwesterly to the Pacific. Placed in tribute to the personnel of that gallant enterprise.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Ensign Peak — 0.7 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley
• Temple Square — 1.2 mi
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Salt Lake City — 1.3 mi
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Liberty Park — 3.2 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• Warm Springs (2) Markers — steps away
• Wasatch Springs Plunge — steps away
• Ensign Peak - Top — 0.6 mi
• Ensign Peak - Trailhead — 0.7 mi