ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah — Construction is getting under way on a new visitors center on the east side of this extremely popular national park.
Governor Spencer Cox joined officials from the Zion National Park Forever Project, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Utah Office of Tourism and local political leaders to plant seeds for the new facility. The new Zion National Park Discovery Center will be on a 19-acre campus, welcoming visitors to a different entrance designed to blend into its surroundings. The idea is to relieve some of the congestion from the Springdale entrance.
Natalie Britt, the president of the Zion Forever Project, said the move also protects a portion of the east side entrance from unrestricted development. The land was donated, and a $15 million bond will help pay for the interpretive center. Utah's Department of Transportation will also spend $10 million on roads into the east entrance.
"When we see those visitors come here, they go home changed," Gov. Cox said in remarks about Zion National Park at the event. "They’re different people because they experienced this place."
The new center will also ultimately serve as a transit hub into the park, connecting to 70 miles of trails around the perimeter of the park.
"I think it’ll take pressure off the park in general because people will have a moment to stop here and this campus in itself will be a place for people to visit on its own," said Britt.
