'Super excited': Utah agency eager for Utahraptor State Park grand opening this year

Utahraptor State Park near Moab is shown on Sept. 25, 2023. Utah State Park officials said Wednesday the park's official grand opening will likely take place in a few months.

Utahraptor State Park near Moab is shown on Sept. 25, 2023. Utah State Park officials said Wednesday the park's official grand opening will likely take place in a few months. (Tanner Siegworth, KSL-TV)


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KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • Utahraptor State Park's grand opening is expected later this year.
  • Improvements include 67 modern campgrounds, water and power in the area.
  • Improved amenities are also coming to other state parks this year, like Red Fleet and Escalante Petrified Forest.

SALT LAKE CITY — One of Utah's newest state parks will finally have its grand opening later this year.

An official grand opening for Utahraptor State Park in Grand County will likely be held over the next few months, Scott Strong, director of the Utah Division of State Parks, informed state lawmakers on Wednesday. The news highlights some of the improvements to Utah's 46 state parks happening this year.

Utah lawmakers established Utahraptor State Park in 2021, but it has taken some time to build the resources that make other state parks popular. It's a reason why it only attracted 26,000 visitors during the 2024 fiscal year, making it one of the least-visited state parks despite its proximity to some of the state's more popular outdoor spaces.

It also has a flurry of one-star reviews on Google from people who have largely been unhappy with the lack of elements available since it opened. One person referred to it as a "blatant and pitiful cash grab."

But Strong said 67 "modern" campgrounds have now been constructed, while wells were drilled for water and power was extended to the area north of Moab for the first time. The park still aims to blend outdoor recreation with historic and prehistoric elements, which helps it stand out.

"I'm super excited for it," he told members of the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee.

"Not only can you camp there — and there's so much (off-highway vehicle) use and biking use — but I love going there," he added. "You can almost pick up a rock ... put it on your tongue, and if it sticks you know you've got a dinosaur bone. They're just everywhere out there."

Visitors will also get to experience a few more changes at other state parks. Red Fleet State Park in Vernal is also set to debut an expanded campground, new tiny houses, an expanded day-use parking lot, and other amenities later this year.

A new campground was constructed at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park in Garfield County, while new campgrounds and day-use areas were built in the North Eden and Rainbow Cove areas of Bear Lake State Park in Rich County.

The division's budget is mostly funded by fees collected through day-use passes, annual passes, campsites, overnight lodging and other activities. Division officials said Wednesday that their only request this year is to use $500,000 from the state's restricted account to help complete a theater in an expansion to the Antelope Island State Park visitor's center.

The theater, Strong said, will have education and research space, as well as space to host events like weddings and conventions. Crews broke ground on the project last summer and are now about one-fifth through the project, the division reported. It's still on track to open in October.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Carter Williams is a reporter for KSL.com. He covers Salt Lake City, statewide transportation issues, outdoors, the environment and weather. He is a graduate of Southern Utah University.
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