'Snow Horse' -- Layton's seasonal landmark each spring

                   A copy of the 'Snow Horse' photo in Layton City Hall. 

LAYTON'S seasonal sentinel – the “snow horse” -- “gallops” into view most every spring (usually mid-to Late May) to make its annual appearance on the mountainside above Layton.

This prominent spring-early summer feature has been recognized as a landmark since pioneer times.

It doesn’t last long, depending on temperature and snow depth.

A photograph of a typical looking snow horse on the mountain hangs in the lobby of Layton City Hall.

Pioneer legend says that if any of the snow horse is still visible by the Fourth of July, there'll be plenty of water in the valley all summer.

Another variation of the legend is that tender crops should not be planted until the snow horse is clearly spotted, because it's a sign there will be no more frost until fall.

In a present-day variation, some Layton area parents tell their children they can't wear shorts, or play in the sprinklers until they spot the snow horse on the mountainside.

The snow horse is located at about 8,500 feet above sea level on appropriately named Snow Horse Ridge, east of the Layton-Kaysville border, one canyon south of Adams Canyon.

It is perhaps easiest to spot from Layton's west Gentile Street, or Layton High School.

The white figure takes shape because of the way the snow melts on an open ridge with several large outcroppings of rocks and bushes. plus some deep ravines, where snow accumulates.

In fact, with keen eyes, you can spot the snow horse shape in summer or even under sparse snowfall, because of the rock formations.

Some believe they can spot a smaller colt-like shape following the horse. Others say it is a bat-like figure that sometimes appears too.

                             A view of the Snow Horse from above.   

                                                                                                                            Photo by Ravell Call.                   

Since the snow horse shape is entirely dependent on snow pack, how wet or dry a years is can affect its visibility/

For example, in the springs of 2007, 2015 and 2021, the snow horse was a no show on the mountain side. That's because there was sparse snowfall the previous winter and then temperatures warmed up fast in the spring.

          The missing snow horse shape in 2007, with meager snow and warm temperatures.

In the spring of 2013, the snow horse was barely visible for a day before it faded almost completely away.

On June 13, 2017, the snow horse was snowed on and was visible with a fresh layer of snow on top of it.

         The hard to see snow horse shape on June 13, 2017, after a rare late spring snowfall.

What was the year that the snow horse was visible the longest?

According to the Davis News Journal newspaper of July 15, 1982, the head and leg of the snow horse were still visible in mid July that year. That's because the winter of 1981-92 was one with high snowfall and the spring was wet and cool.

How did the snow horse receive its name? That Davis News Journal story by Donetta Gatherum quoted Nora Williams, 79, of Layton, who said she learned of the snow horse from her grandmother, probably in about 1910.

"Whenever we traveled in the buggy to Kaysville to buy groceries, my Grandmother would say, 'Well, the snow horse is coming out, or the snow horse is fading away.' I don't know if she named it or all the pioneers of the area called it the snow horse."

Gatherum wrote that "the snow horse can be a symbol of the continuity between generations and of the common bonds and interests that tie all people together."