ZION NATIONAL PARK – Staring up at the towering sandstone walls and breathing in the snap of a cool spring breeze, Florencia Aymar gestured Wednesday at the crowd of fellow tourists around her and said she could understand why so many visitors are flocking to Zion National Park.
“This right here, this view, this is something,” the resident of San Rafael, Argentina, said. “This is something we all can like.”
It’s a feeling more and more people are starting to share.
Between the unseasonably warm weather and a growing reputation as a destination location, Zion and the rest of Utah’s “Mighty 5” national parks are seeing record numbers of visitors in 2015.
Through the first three months of the year, Zion had seen 475,750 visitors, a 28 percent increase over 2014, when it went on to set a record with 3.2 million visitors for the year.
Similar increases had been seen in nearby Bryce Canyon National Park (up 33 percent through February), and Arches National Park (23 percent through March).
Less-visited Capitol Reef National Park had seen a 16 percent increase through February, and Canyonlands, the least-visited of the five, was down 22 percent.
Most area parks and recreation areas were reporting unusually high usage for so early in the season, and managers were noting the extra strain it was putting on resources.
“We’re seeing increases everywhere, and it’s impacting everything,” said Aly Baltrus, public information officer at Zion.
The park started its main canyon shuttle service two weeks early to accommodate the crowds, and the increase in visitors has created more pressure to keep enough staff on hand to limit lines and wait times, Baltrus said.
“That’s something we’re still working out,” she said. “Our goal is to make sure we do what it takes so everyone who visits can have a good time.”
Some of the increase is likely due to the warm weather — most of the state saw record high temperatures throughout most of the early part of the year, and the usual spring crowds came earlier than usual, Baltrus said.
In addition, ongoing statewide efforts to boost tourism, such as the “Mighty 5” marketing campaign pushed by the Utah Office of Tourism, has fostered a much larger national and international presence for prospective travelers.
“Mighty 5 has been really big,” Baltrus said. “It’s made a big difference at all of the parks.”
Baltrus said the recommendation for local residents planning to visit the park is to come in the mornings if possible, and to avoid busy weekends.
The wear and tear is also putting a strain on finances, and Zion is among a long list of parks where user fees are planned to increase this year — from $25 to $30 for a single private, non-commercial vehicle, along with other increases.
National Park Service officials have contended that the fee increases would only raise a fraction of the estimated $11.5 billion needed nationwide to fix and maintain roads, trails and park buildings.
In Utah, some $278 million worth of projects have been postponed, for years in some cases.
At Zion alone, $62.1 million in maintenance was delayed in the last year.
At a congressional hearing in March, NPS Director Jonathan Jarvis said the 295 million people expected to visit park properties this year are still getting a reasonable deal compared to the costs of other recreational pursuits.
“We cannot greet them with failing facilities,” he said.
On Wednesday, visitors said they could see how the growing crowds could be putting more pressure on the parks.
“It’s really kind of a shame to see it overrun, which is how I view it sometimes,” said Kaitlyn Mason, who said she visits the park about once each year. “It’s hard to say no, you can’t come here, but it’s also something that should have a limit.”
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Zion National Park visitation Jan.-March
2006: 286,036
2007: 316,792
2008: 305,995
2009: 290,414
2010: 288,106
2011: 296,362
2012: 307,826
2013: 349,865
2014: 371,911
2015: 475,750
Source: National Park Service.
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