Rocky Mountain Juniper

Legend held that a single juniper stood here when the pioneers arrived — the only tree in an empty valley. Botanists tell a duller truth: the Salt Lake Valley was sagebrush steppe, not bare ground, and the lone tree was likely just the most conspicuous survivor. Still, when it finally died of old age, no one wanted it forgotten. The Daughters of Utah Pioneers sheltered a length of its trunk under a stone cupola in 1933, and in 1991 children from Bennion Elementary planted this replacement. The young juniper is thriving.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Salt Lake City — 1.1 mi
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Temple Square — 1.1 mi
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Liberty Park — 1.2 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882
• Gilgal Sculpture Garden — 1.4 mi
  A surreal and eccentric sculpture garden hidden in a residential neighborhood

More markers nearby

• Lone Cedar Tree — steps away
• L.D.S. Tenth Ward Square — 0.3 mi
• Simon Bamberger House — 0.4 mi
• First Church of Christ, Scientist (2) Marker — 0.4 mi