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ST. GEORGE — Zion National Park isn’t the only place that’s been dealing with an increase in visitors in recent years. While more people are enjoying the sights of Snow Canyon State Park these days, the increasing visitation has also come with a notable challenge — hikers making their own paths.
“One of the biggest impacts we’re seeing here is people hiking off-trail,” Snow Canyon State Park Manager Kristen Comella said.
Snow Canyon State Park saw nearly 300,000 visitors in 2017 compared to 272,000 in 2016, according to Utah State Parks visitation data. As of June, 236,000 people have visited the park.
The park has experienced an annual visitor increase of around 12 percent over the last decade, Comella said.
This had brought an increase of hikers going off designated trails within Snow Canyon State Park and Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.
The concern of more hikers going off the trails was brought up in a recent meeting of the Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan advisory committee, which helps oversee management of the Mohave desert tortoise reserve found within the national conservation area.
Chief among those concerns are people potentially damaging desert tortoise habitat.