Big Rock Candy Mountain — Utah

After Harry McClintock released the song “Big Rock Candy Mountain” in 1928, Utah locals placed a sign at the base of a yellow mountain outside of Richfield, labelling it as the song’s namesake because they believed the scenic area matched McClintock’s lyrical description. After the song’s popularization in the 1950s, tourists along Highway 89 considered Utah’s Big Rock Candy Mountain an attraction itself.

In his 1928 song, “Big Rock Candy Mountain,” the American folk singer Harry McClintock (1882-1957) sang of a fabled paradise that he described as being bathed in perpetual sunshine, free of danger and common stressors, and flowing endlessly with delicious food and drink. The song quickly gained national popularity, leading some Utah locals to place a sign at the foot of a colorful mountain outside of Richfield, which they believed resembled the one McClintock described in the song. For the mountain’s scenic views and association with the popular song, Big Rock Candy Mountain became a local tourist attraction. Two ambitious locals, Ben Dieringer and Pratt Seegmiller, capitalized on the site’s popularity by opening a resort, including a motel, café, gift shop, and fuel station at the foot of the mountain in 1933.

Utah locals recognized this mountain as one of Utah’s greatest natural wonders. The mountain’s vibrant colors resulted from mineralization that occurred after layers of hot magma covered the mountain’s volcanic rock and deposited an oxidized mineral, limonite, over twenty million years ago. Today, the mountain presents a combination of multiple vibrant colors, including orange, red, white, and yellow. Locals suggest that these bright colors make the mountain look as if it is made entirely of candy and is therefore deserving of its name.

Throughout the mid-20th century, the Big Rock Candy Mountain Resort became a popular roadside attraction along Highway 89 and a valued community center for the residents of Piute County. Travelers could fuel vehicles, enjoy a meal at the café, rest overnight, and purchase bottled mineral water and colorful rock candy from the curio shop. Beginning in the 1950s, Dieringer brought live animals to the resort, including coyotes, deer, mountain lions, porcupines, and lynxes, and allowed visitors to pet them. He believed these encounters could help people cultivate compassion for animals. Dieringer began hosting an annual Easter egg hunt. Advertisements in the Richfield Reaper invited families from the nearby town to spend their Sunday at the Big Rock Candy Mountain Resort, where children could search for Easter eggs he had hidden throughout the hills behind the resort. The 1950s and 1960s were Dierringer and Seegmiller’s prime years as business owners before they retired.

Dieringer and Seegmiller sold the Big Rock Candy Mountain Resort to Richfield resident John Gledhill in 1974. Two years later, a fuel pump ignited a fire, destroying the service station and motel. Gledhill rebuilt the resort in 1978 despite this setback. He owned the business for twenty years in total before he filed for bankruptcy in 1994 and offered the resort for auction. Dissatisfied with the auction’s turnout, Gledhill listed the property on the real estate market for $535,000.000 in 1995. Utah locals Michael and Anne Morrey purchased the property in 1997 and advertised the site as an ideal place for family reunions, where visitors could stay at the resort’s cabins, camp, hike, or ride ATVs on the surrounding outdoor trails.

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