Phase one of a project that promises a major facilities upgrade at Zion National Park in Utah is well underway, and is set to be completed by October. The project, a new sewer line to replace the park’s failed septic system, will eliminate rows of port-a-potties that currently crowd popular areas of the park.
Flush Toilets Returning
As The Salt Lake Tribune reports, Zion has been doing without flushing toilets in some parts of the park ever since its overtaxed, decades-old septic system failed. Areas like the Grotto, where the iconic Angel’s Landing trail starts, still have flush toilets, but the systems require pumping multiple times per week. Other areas, like Temple of Sinawava where the Narrows hike begins, have been crowded with port-a-potties, an expensive and disliked solution for the park’s visitors and employees alike.
“Nobody wants to go to a national park and go to a porta-potty,” said Washington County Commissioner Adam Snow, to The Salt Lake Tribune. Zion National Park Project Manager and Civil Engineer Tyler Hoskins previously told St. George Newsthat the failed septic systems in various parts of the park posed a potential threat to its ecosystem, including the Virgin River that runs through Zion canyon.
According to park spokesperson Matthew Fink, maintaining these temporary solutions costs around $300,000 annually. Construction of the new sewer line began in August, advancing from Canyon Junction near the park’s southern entrance towards the Grotto. The next phases will bring it to Weeping Rock Trailhead and Temple of Sinawava, with an estimated final completion in 2027. Once it’s done, maintenance costs will fall to around $10,000 each year, and park visitors will no longer have to use portable toilets.
America’s Second Most-Visited National Park
According to 2024 statistics released by the National Parks Service, Zion stands as the second-most-visited national park in the United States. With 4,946,592 visits in 2024, it just edged out Grand Canyon National Park, which had 4,919,163. Both parks stand well behind Great Smokey Mountain National Park in Virigina, with over 12 million annual visits.
It’s nearly double the number of visits seen in 2010, and has taxed the park’s infrastructure at a time when staffing and funding levels have gone down.
