Visitation at Utah's state parks jumped 10% in 2021. These were the most visited parks

SALT LAKE CITY — Given the national park shutdown at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects that had on tourism, Utah parks officials weren't surprised that Utah's state parks outpaced the "Mighty 5" in attendance two years ago.

Last year's rate is a bit more surprising. Despite the resurgence of national park visitation that brought over 5 million visitors to Zion National Park alone last year, Utah's state parks were as popular as ever in 2021.

Nearly 11.64 million visitors flocked to state parks in 2021 — close to a 10% increase, or more than a million more than the record-shattering 2020 figure. It's the second consecutive year that total visitation at Utah's state parks surpassed the total visitation of national parks in the state. There were about 11.3 million visitors at Utah's national parks last year.

"State parks are continuing to be popular," said Devan Chavez, spokesman for the Utah Division of State Parks. "Anyone would be happy with a 9.8% (increase). But a 9.8% increase after a huge increase of 33% the year before, it just shows people are still flocking."

There were a few other records within the data. With over 2.2 million people, June 2021 broke the record for the highest visitation in one month in state park history and the first 2 million visitation month ever.

Sand Hollow State Park in Hurricane, Washington County, again led the way in visitation with a record 1.53 million visitors. Dead Horse Point and Antelope Island state parks also surged past 1 million visitors last year — marking the first year multiple parks received over 1 million visitors in the same year.

Those three parks all had more visitors than Canyonlands National Park in southeast Utah, which reported a record 911,594 visits last year. Nine of the top 10 most-visited state parks in Utah drew over a half-million visitors.

Behind the increase

Prior to the pandemic, the Utah Office of Tourism began to shift its promotion of the "Mighty 5" national parks in Utah to the few dozen state parks all over Utah. This promotion only increased with the launch of the "Forever Mighty" campaign last year.

That campaign promotes outdoor recreation in lesser-visited areas, such as national monuments and Utah's state parks.

"We're really trying to attract people to get off the beaten path. We have so many remarkable amenities that we're trying to make sure people know about. People can have a less-congested experience," Vicki Varela, the director of the state tourism office, told KSL.com in January.

It's possible that COVID-19 provided the nudge in that direction. Out-of-state visitors and Utah residents alike wanted safer outdoor experiences in 2020. Then, in 2021, people went back to them because they either learned what they had to offer or heard from others about it.

As a part of his job, Chavez often interacts with state park visitors. The first question is usually about where the visitor came from to get to the state park that day. What he's noticed is there is still a balanced mix between out-of-state travelers and Utahns.

"You still get the (people from) California, the occasional European family that's been on some huge, long trip from one end of the state to the other, but we're seeing a lot more from people saying, 'I'm from Logan,' 'I'm from Roy,' 'I'm from Provo,' 'I'm from Cedar City,' and they're looking for what's in their own backyard," he said.

It's something he understands all too well. Originally from Tooele, Chavez said he never really went to Antelope Island until he landed his current job. For him, it was just a piece of land he'd see off in the distance for many years.

When he finally went there, he couldn't believe it took him so long to get there.

The Great Salt Lake Marina is another example of a place that many Utahns passed by daily and are now pulling off I-80 to check out. Located between Salt Lake City and Tooele, the park received almost 150,000 visits last year, nearly triple the visitation from the 2017 fiscal year.

That's crucial because more visits result in more funds that go toward park improvements and land preservation.

"Now what we're seeing is a lot of them are (pulling off) in the last two years," Chavez said. "I think that's phenomenal and also essential in protecting these areas. … These are areas people can see and touch and be a part of with their friends and family, or solo if they want."

There are likely other factors in the 2021 increase. The entire catalog of state parks offers a range of activities such as hiking, biking, off-highway vehicle driving, sightseeing, dark sky viewing, as well as providing educational experiences.

It's worth noting that Utah State Parks officials said it had "some bad apples," but overall didn't have a major issue with land vandalism despite the record attendance.

Last year also produced the hottest June on record in state history, so it was no surprise that water-centric state parks drew the most crowds during the record-breaking state park visitation that month.

Jordanelle, Deer Creek and Sand Hollow state parks all averaged over 6,500 visitors per day that month as people looked to cool off. It also helped that some of the reservoirs, especially Sand Hollow, remained above half-full throughout the summer despite the persistent statewide drought.

The drought also may have factored in some visitation decreases. One example is Willard Bay in northern Utah, which ended the 2021 water year just above one-third full. The third-most visited park in 2020 received almost 160,000 fewer visitors in 2021, falling to sixth on the 2021 most-visited list. Bear Lake, Jordanelle and Deer Creek state parks also reported dropoffs in 2021.

Assistance from the Utah Legislature

The growth in state park visitation led to over $120 million in funds and two new state parks during the 2021 legislative session, which were meant to go toward park improvements and spread visitation out among the state parks.

The two new parks, Lost Creek and Utahraptor, are slowly starting to join the fold. Lost Creek State Park even hosted its first ice fishing tournament last month.

A lot of the projects funded last year will be worked on this year, such as new campgrounds at Sand Hollow and Deer Creek state parks, a visitor center expansion at Antelope Island State Park, and upgrades to the Cedar Point Day Use Area at Rockport State Park.

More funds were directed this year for the future. HB409 makes a technical change to tax revenue, resulting in a new account to fund outdoor recreation projects, Sen. Chris Wilson, R-Logan, the bill's floor sponsor, explained earlier this month. It diverts about 1% of the state's transportation investment fund to provide ongoing funds to go to places like Utah State Parks.

In the past, the state has directed a series of one-time funds toward specific outdoor recreation projects. This, Wilson said, would move away from that.

"What we need is a reliable, consistent and steady revenue source to fund our recreation that is world-renowned," he added.

It's set to provide about $15 million to the Utah Division of State Parks in the upcoming fiscal year within the first $36.2 million the new fund will produce. There are a number of projects that money may go toward, but the division hasn't formal decisions yet, Chavez said.

The bill provides another $5 million to go toward the Utah Division of Recreation, while the remaining $16.2 will go to the Utah Department of Transportation for trails and access to parks off state highways. It's also projected to create an additional $37.9 million in funds for the 2024 fiscal year, according to the Utah Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst.

Utah State Parks has also received funds for improvements at Antelope Island and Bear Lake state parks. The latter of those projects is an expansion that's expected to double the size of the marina at Bear Lake State Park. The Legislature approved $60 million toward that project in a one-time appropriation.

"That is a huge project; that is a huge undertaking, but Bear Lake just continues to be an extremely popular park," Chavez said, pointing toward photos of lines and crowds at the park that raise eyebrows. "Improvements there are going to do a lot of things.

Not everything that could have been funded this year got approved. A new Great Salt Lake Visitors Center didn't make the cut, as an example.

However, the money is expected to go a long way because there are no signs that visitation to state parks is slowing down anytime soon.

"We expect visitation to keep growing and, hopefully, that continues to be a good thing in our world because we rely on visitors so much," Chavez said. "It's one of the reasons we're trying to get these infrastructure projects in place: We don't want our visitors to have a bad experience when they're visiting these places."

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