Bryce Canyon Wants Your Opinion On Bike Trail Inside Park

The Park Service has proposed building a “multi-use visitor path” connecting Bryce Canyon City, Dixie National Forest, and popular overlooks and trailheads in Bryce Canyon National Park. The path would be used by pedestrian and bikers.

An open house to discuss the plan will be held tomorrow (Oct 14, 2014), 5 to 7 p.m. at the Bryce Canyon City Public Safety Building, 70 W. 100 North, in Bryce Canyon City. People not able to attend the open house can make comments via the comment link in the left column on this page.

The initial portion of the trail would run some 7 miles, from Bryce Canyon City to Inspiration Point. It would probably be extended another mile to Bryce Point. In the future, the trail could connect with the route down Red Canyon, providing some 21 miles (one way) of interconnected trail.

Officials hope the trail will reduce traffic congestion within the park, while also providing an enjoyable, healthy travel alternative.

Below is a summary of the proposal provided by Bryce Canyon.

Bryce Canyon National Park Multi-Use Path

The National Park Service (NPS), in cooperation with the United States Forest Service (USFS), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Utah Department of Transportation, Garfield County, and Bryce Canyon City, is proposing to design and construct a multi-use visitor path connecting Bryce Canyon City, Dixie National Forest, and popular viewpoints and trailheads in Bryce Canyon National Park. The proposed project would begin at the shuttle bus staging area in Bryce Canyon City and continue through Dixie National Forest to key developed visitor use areas in the park.

The primary purpose of the proposed project is to relieve safety issues for all visitors who choose to use nonmotorized transportation-such as walking, jogging, cycling, and cross-country skiing-to experience the park and adjacent United States Forest Service areas near Bryce Canyon City. Increases in visitation at the park (30% increase between 2008 and 2012) are leading to transportation system capacity issues and traffic congestion. Cyclists and pedestrians need a way to travel to and within the park that is more safe, provides a better visitor experience, promotes nonmotorized travel between nearby communities and the park as well as between key destinations in the park. The proposed path project would also connect to the existing transportation system, including visitor shuttle buses, hiking trails and walking paths, parking lots, and roads linking major visitor attractions and facilities with both nonmotorized and motorized transportation modes. Visitor safety would be improved by separating motor vehicles from bicyclists, pedestrians, and other nonmotorized user groups where possible. The path is also intended to help manage congestion, improve visitor experience, and provide alternative means of accessing United States Forest Service and National Park Service lands. Doing so would enhance the parks transportation system by connecting the parks gateway communities with high visitor use areas along the canyon rim in the Bryce Amphitheater and other key features of the park. To facilitate easy transition between transportation modes, the proposed project would connect Bryce Canyon City to current and future multimodal transportation hubs in the park as identified in the Bryce Canyon National Park Multimodal Transportation Plan.

Contact Information

Dan Cloud, Bryce Canyon National Park, at Daniel_Cloud@nps.gov or (435) 834-4720

Nick Glidden, Dixie National Forest, at nglidden@fs.fed.us or (435) 865-3747