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Zion National Park sets another visitation record

July 19, 2021 GMT

FILE - Zion National Park is shown in this Sept. 16, 2015, file photo, near Springdale, Utah. With the ongoing drought and summer temperatures spiking to record highs, Zion National Park is asking visitors to be diligent about heat-related illnesses as search and rescue operations spike. The Spectrum newspaper reports Chief Ranger Daniel Fagergren said there has been a noticeable uptick in 911 calls since Memorial Day weekend, 2021. Fagregren said there were six heat-related injuries within a two-hour period on one recent weekend. In addition, toxic cyanobacteria are still present in Zion's Virgin River, so officials are asking visitors to avoid the water. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

SPRINGDALE, Utah (AP) — Zion National Park has set a new record for visitors in a single month.

National Park Service data shows the park saw nearly 676,000 visitors in June, topping the number during the same period in 2019 by a wide margin, the Spectrum newspaper reported.

In June 2019, the park saw 595,000 visitors. The number dipped in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic to about 377,000 visitors.

“We far surpassed our record,” Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh told the Springdale Town Council.

Two other Utah parks, Canyonlands National Park and Capitol Reef National Park, saw their busiest June ever, with nearly 110,000 and 190,000 visitors respectively. Arches National Park temporarily delays entry almost daily now because of high visitation volumes but the official data hasn’t been released for June.

Utah parks have seen visitation rise steadily over the past decade, with some parks seeing their average annual attendance nearly double.