Zion’s Historic Campground Gets Complete Makeover
Zion National Park has started a big renovation project for its historic South Campground. The park received money from several sources including the Great American Outdoors Act to fix and improve this popular camping area.
This project will completely update the campground, which has been hosting visitors since the 1920s. Most of the current facilities were built in the 1960s.
Many improvements
The National Park Service writes that this renovation will add many improvements including new bathrooms, better drinking water systems, improved sewer pipes, stronger drainage systems for storms, better campsites, and new boxes to store food safely.
“We are just beginning the construction process”, said Jeff Bradybaugh, Zion National Park Superintendent. “Visitors to Zion will benefit for years from the hard work of the many expert park employees and skilled craftspeople who are rehabilitating one of our most popular and historic campgrounds. Congress made this work possible through the Great American Outdoors Act – Legacy Restoration Fund.”
The park will also build a new building where visitors can talk to rangers and get permits for activities like canyoneering and backpacking. They will improve water drainage to help prevent flooding and plant native plants throughout the campground.
More than doubled
This work comes at an important time, as visitor numbers to Zion have more than doubled in the last twenty years. The old campground facilities simply couldn’t handle so many people.
The Great American Outdoors Act provides up to $1.3 billion each year for five years to the National Park Service. This money comes from energy development and helps fix the backlog of repairs needed in national parks across America.
The improvements will make South Campground more accessible and easier to maintain in the future, ensuring that campers can enjoy this historic site for many more decades to come.
