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SPRINGDALE — A trailblazing agreement between the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah and Springdale has materialized. The tribe has donated the rights for people to access their land to enjoy the new George A. Barker River Park trail.
The land is owned exclusively by the tribe, so an easement would have been customarily required and would have taken more time. For many years residents were hiking on the trail with no formal agreement.
"Typically, when we're building trails, we get an easement, which says, 'Yes, this is your property, but you're giving us formal permission to build a trail or to access your property,'" Ryan Gubler, Springdale director of parks and recreation said. "But we didn't use that this time because the Paiute tribe was just very gracious."
The trail is accessible by the steep dirt road near the old water tower. The trail meanders along the top of a mesa for about a mile. Visitors are treated to rare views of the area.
"The Paiute tribe has been letting people go up on their land," Gubler said. "They've been very open to hikers, bikers, whoever wants to go up and enjoy spectacular views of Zion Canyon. So, when you get up to the top, you're overlooking Springdale, and you are looking up the canyon and Zion National Park. It's really, really pretty."
