Winter is ordinarily a quiet time for Zion, Utah’s most popular national park.
But the Salt Lake Tribune reports that this December and January have seen visitation surging, with numbers up nearly 70 percent since 2010. Annual visitation has soared from 2.7 million in 2010 to 4 million in 2016. Lines of cars are regularly backed up at the entrance gate and trails are so crowded hikers have to turn sideways to pass each other. The Tribune reports some citizens in nearby Springdale are calling for the state to scale back its advertising campaign promoting Utah’s “Mighty Five” national parks.
