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SALT LAKE CITY — Two legislative bills went into effect Tuesday directing state park leaders to look into creating two more parks.
There are 43 parks in the Utah State park system as of 2017. The most recent park to be added was the Flight Park State Recreation Area in 2006. One of the new parks could be made in Escalante.
Just after entering Escalante, coming from Boulder in Garfield County, you’ll find the story of one of the most treacherous expeditions in Utah history at the Escalante Heritage Center.
“They want to tell the story here of the Hole in the Rock expedition,” said Garfield County Commissioner Jerry Taylor.
It's the story of pioneers lowering covered wagons down from an impossible rock canyon into the Lake Powell area. Taylor knows the story well.
“We have a pioneer heritage here,” Taylor said. “And part of that is that 'stickity toity,' if you read the book ‘The Undaunted,’ they mention that in there. “They mention the 'stickity toity' you have to have to survive here. This is a tough spot.”
Now it just might become Hole in the Rock State Park, Utah's newest state park.
“The story is so compelling about people who crossed this obviously unforgiving terrain to get to where they were trying to go,” said Fred Hayes, director of Utah State Parks.
Hayes said it’s not a state park, but now it can be studied to potentially make it one.
Little Sahara in Juab County, which is currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management, could also become a state park.
“Sometimes we laugh about being in this desert and there’s nothing to do in the desert, right?” Hayes said. “Well, no, there’s a lot to do.”
Despite being able to pursue two new parks, Hayes said it could be another year or two before these places are made into state parks.
