Utah’s southeast national parks haul in visitors, money

Zion National Park may be Utah’s superstar when it comes to its popularity and attracting visitors with its towering cliffs, the sparkle of the Virgin River and the daunting dare of Angels Landing.

There’s also the park’s trio of spectacular peaks called the Court of the Patriarchs — named Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — by a Methodist minister in 1916. They are best seen from an overlook on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.

There is not much about Zion that isn’t scenic — most the 4.6 million visitors in 2023 would agree — but the diversity of the geographic wonders of the park is just one gem in Utah’s jewelry case.

The parks in the southeastern corner of the state hold their own in terms of visitors and economic might, according to a new report by the National Park Service.

That report shows that the 2.4 million visitors to national parks of the Southeast Utah Group in 2023 spent $397.6 million in communities near the four parks. That spending supported 5,122 jobs in this region and had a cumulative benefit to local economies of $486.1 million. That is a lot of impact from the parks, which offer a wide diversity of beauty and recreation opportunities.

These park specific metrics included in the report show that:

• Arches National Park’s 1.5 million visitors in 2023 spent an estimated $283 million in local gateway communities, which supported a total of 3,650 jobs, $116 million in labor income, $194 million in value added, and $346 million in economic output overall.
• Canyonlands National Park’s 800,000 visitors in 2023 spent an estimated $106 million, which supported 1,370 jobs, $42.8 million in labor income, $72.4 million in value added, and $130 million in economic output for gateway communities.
• Hovenweep National Monument’s more than 35,000 visitors in 2023 spent an estimated $2.6 million, which supported 32 jobs, $960,000 in labor income, $1.7 million in value added, and $3.1 million in economic output.
• Natural Bridges National Monument’s nearly 84,000 visitors in 2023 spent an estimated $6 million, which supported around 70 jobs, $2.3 million in labor income, $4 million in value added, and $7 million in economic output.

All told, more than 300 million people visited the country’s national parks last year. NPS director Chuck Sam said the parks make lasting impacts on visitors and the communities that surround them.

Those local impacts are critical.

“Southeast Utah parks aren’t close to any major cities, so when people visit they tend to spend at least a few hours if not a few days in the nearby communities,” said Superintendent Lena Pace. “That translates to real support of local economies and partner organizations, and we’re proud to be a part of that.”

Utah has five national parks — only outnumbered by California and Alaska — and boasts another 11 national monuments, historic sites or recreation areas such as Glen Canyon National Recreation Area featuring Lake Powell.

Even though Powell has suffered from extremely low water levels — it’s just about a third full — the recreation area drew more than 5 million visitors in 2023.