The Zion Narrows route at Zion National Park has been closed to visitors/NPS
Editor's note: This corrects that the private property in question is between the Chamberlain Ranch and the Narrows.
If there's one iconic backcountry trip at Zion National Park in Utah that lures visitors from around the world, it's the 16-mile hike through the Zion Narrows. On Tuesday, however, that trek was put out of reach when a private landowner closed his property as an access point to The Narrows.
"Effective immediately, Zion National Park has stopped issuing Wilderness permits to hike the Zion Narrows from North to South (“top-down”)," park staff said. "This includes the 16-mile one-way day hike and all overnight use."
That announcement followed the appearance of "Private Property, No Trespassing" signs on the approach to The Narrows that crosses the Chamberlain Ranch on the northern end of the route. Also posted were "property for sale" signs, according to park staff.
The Narrows is one of the park's most popular attractions. A slot canyon 2,000 feet deep in places, only 20-30 feet wide in others, The Narrows is a popular draw for hikers and, on occasion, white-water aficionados.
It is also one of the most dangerous journeys in Zion, as even during the dry season hikers can find themselves faced with cold water to wade, walk, or swim through, and flash floods spawned far upstream can scour the canyon with deadly floods. In a brief release announcing the development, Zion staff said they were working with the landowner in an attempt to resolve the matter.
Day hiking from the Temple of Sinawava at the end of the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive (accessible by park shuttle) is open to hiking north to Big Springs within the Narrows. Upstream travel from Big Springs is not allowed.
Trust For Public Land staff said Wednesday that the property in question that created the access problem is not the Chamberlain Ranch itself, but another parcel that lies between the ranch and the Narrows.
“The Trust for Public Land has been working for over a decade to protect the splendor of Zion National Park and secure access to the Zion Narrows, one of America’s most iconic outdoor experiences. In 2013 we were able to successfully conserve the 285-acre Chamberlain Ranch, which today provides one of the main access points to the Zion Narrows Trail," said Jim Petterson, the Trust's Southwest area director.
"We have been working closely for over three years with the owners of the 880-acre Simon Gulch property and key federal and state agencies to protect the property from subdivision and to secure a permanent access easement through the property for the Zion Narrows trail," he added in an email. "The Simon Gulch property is adjacent to Zion National Park, and borders two Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Study Areas. It includes over a mile of the Zion Narrows Trail, and a mile of the North Fork River, which offers important wildlife habitat and is a vital source of drinking water for downstream communities. We are working hard to find a solution that resolves this access issue and restores public access to this remarkable natural resource.”
Zion officials acknowledged Tuesday evening that there have been ongoing efforts to resolve the access issue.
“The landowners have been involved in a process with two programs (not NPS) to grant a conservation easement on their lands immediately outside the park that constitute the only hiking access to The Narrows from the top - down," Zion Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh told the Traveler. "Those discussions have been ongoing, but the landowners have taken the step to post their land against trespass.”
Access across the Chamberlain Ranch has been closed, at least temporarily.
Comments
Threats that this could happen have gone on for more years than I can remember. This is not a surprise.
OMG, I did that hike last Friday, September 20th... I cannot believe how lucky I am to have been able to do that at this point. I knew it was special, which is why I went despite breaking my ankle 3 and a half weeks before and being fresh out of a cast, I just didn't think I would be among the last to go down there.
I guess at least I wasn't blind, but try doing it on one good foot... slippery rocks suck by the way.
I did not see any No trespassing signs, nor did the other 4 people I was with. It is very sad that others will not be able to enjoy that hike. I truly hope that an easement can be worked out or a very generous person purchases that land and reopens it to hikers.
Disappointing. Be interesting to know why he took that action. Time for Park supporters to pool their resources and buy an access corridor.
The owner is trying to squeeze more juice(cash) from the property.
Sounds like a repeat of Death Point in the Kolob Canyons area. Hopefully the NPS won't be as hostile to the Chamberlain Ranch Folk as they were to the landowners who graciously provided access to Death Point. Government employees - in combination with draconian federal policies - can be real pricks to those who try to cooperate with them. Don't judge the prvate landowners until all the facts are presented.
Has anyone looked into the possibility that a public prescriptive easement was established by continuous use?
Generally speaking, there is no collective claim to a prescriptive easement - in other words use by multiple unassociated parties neither satisfies the four-pronged test for a prescriptive easement, nor would be allowed the privelege of one, once established.
Another issue closely related to this one is the epidemic use of sinage - by provate landowners - to lead the public to believe that public lands are private. I've seen this all over Utah. In Zion NP, the access to the parking area to scramble up The Watchman comes immediately to mind, along with the access to hike/scramble up Mount Kinesava. In Northern Utah, private land owners have gone as far as to put locked gates across Forest Service Roads to prevent access. Oddly, the Forest Service won't do anything anout it. Two examples can be found in the Upper Weber River Canyon in the Laked Roadless Area (bordering the west side of the High Uintas Wilderness).