Wintertime offers more privacy at Zion National Park


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ZION NATIONAL PARK — Martin Luther King Jr. day means free admission to Zion National park, so Tony Done didn't need much convincing from his family to visit.

"Where we live in Southern Utah, National Parks are a part of our life," Done, a Blanding resident, said.

"We love Free day," Done said. "Martin Luther King, Great American Hero."

The family has been to Zion several times before, but there's something about visiting in the winter, where they feel like the whole place is theirs.

Zion set a visitation record in 2015 — more than 3-million people — the third year in a row a record was set.

Although that may be good for nearby businesses, park officials admit it's not so good for that "get away from it all" experience.

"We're starting to see where visitors themselves are complaining about overcrowding," Zion National Park spokeswoman Aly Baltrus said.

Park workers are also noticing erosion concerns on trails, resource issues, and it's getting tougher to keep restroom facilities clean.

So, starting this year, administrators will be looking for ideas on how to handle visitation numbers.

"You know, we don't have the perfect solution, yet," Baltrus said. "Hopefully, with this visitor use management plan, we'll come up with something or the public will come up with something we can adopt."

(Photo: Alex Cabrero)
(Photo: Alex Cabrero)

"Now is a good time to come, and it's not too cold," Washington resident Clifford Lowe said.

Lowe and his family live in nearby Washington, and he said many locals avoid Zion during the summer because of overcrowding.

"Something has to be done," Lowe said. "I enjoy bringing my family here, letting the kids play in nature. I love it."

Park officials say they will meet with the public and with local business leaders as well as local government leaders and the State of Utah to try and come up with a perfect system.

They admit no matter what they do, it's probably not going to be a perfect system, but at this point, they admit something has to be done.

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Alex Cabrero

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