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Road Work in Zion Restricts Canyoneering

Utah News Hiking
by JoAnna Haugen Apr 13, 2010
Road work in Zion National Park will shut down Pine Creek Canyon and other popular canyoneering routes this summer.

Beginning in mid-May, 3.5 miles of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway, a series of switchbacks in Zion National Park, will undergo construction. Due to the location and extent of the road work, drivers will not be able to stop in the area, and canyoneering routes that end in that part of the park will be closed.

Pine Creek Canyon, one of Zion’s popular canyoneering routes, ends in the construction zone. The park service won’t give out permits for Pine Creek during the construction period, which is expected to last until October.

In addition, cayoneers will be unable to get permits for Spry Canyon while road construction is being completed in that area. The time period for that work is still unknown, so permits for Spry Canyon will still be available up to a day in advance on a walk-in basis, from May 1 until the construction begins.

Visitors can still make reservations for Keyhole Canyon through June 15. After that, like Spry Canyon, permits will only be available a day in advance.

Many of the park’s other popular canyoneering routes, including the Narrows, Left Fork and Orderville, will remain open and accessible throughout the construction process.

Updates on the availability of permits for canyoneering routes will be available on the National Park Service’s website or by calling the Zion backcountry desk at 435-772-0170.

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