The majority of City Creek Canyon is owned by Salt Lake City. However, some segments are owned by the federal government, and a few scattered parcels are privately owned.
City Creek Canyon extends approximately ten miles in a north-easterly direction from the Salt Lake City center. The elevation increases from approximately 4500 feet above sea level at the canyon entrance to nearly 9000 feet at the head of the canyon.
The Mormon pioneers camped at the mouth of City Creek Canyon when they first came to the Salt Lake Valley. They selected this area because City Creek provided a good source of water for drinking and irrigation. In 1857, the area at the mouth of the canyon was deeded to Brigham Young by the territorial legislature and he used the creek to power a sawmill and flour mill. In the 1860s and 1870s Brigham Young gave and sold sections of the area to members of his family and friends. Several of these people built homes in the lower Memory Grove vicinity.
In 1902 Salt Lake City acquired sections of the canyon (Memory Grove area) and the City Council passed a resolution approving the canyon being developed into a park. The park’s first improvements occurred in 1914 when the City planted trees. Major park improvements didn’t occur until after World War I. At that time the Service Star Legion, an organization of women whose sons had served in World War I, asked if the area could be set aside as a memorial to those who died during the war. The City agreed to the proposal and the area was dedicated as a memorial park in 1924. Since then a number of monuments have been added and it is now a memorial to the men and women of Utah who lost their lives in defense of their country.