Glen Canyon Recreation Area

Photographer Tad Nichols documented Glen Canyon’s beauty before Lake Powell’s creation when the Colorado River was dammed in the early 60’s. Now, 60 years on, Powell is receding, and photographer Dawn Kish is walking in Nichols’ footsteps.

Overuse, drought and climate change have pummeled the lake fed by the imperiled Colorado River to near historic lows, made worse by the driest winter on record and extreme heat. Even so, businesses on the lake say there's still plenty of water to recreate.

The slump in Utah park tourism comes as American politics and rhetoric keep many international visitors away. Locals around the parks are feeling the impact.

A Trump executive order directs the National Park Service to review displays and signs that may cast the American people or landscapes in a negative light. Critics call it an “attack on the discipline of history itself.”

La cantidad de visitantes ha disminuido en todos los parques de Utah, impulsada por una baja en el turismo internacional. La incertidumbre económica y la retórica política podrían estar alejándolos, con grandes implicaciones para las economías locales que dependen de ellos.

Visitation is down at all of Utah’s parks, driven by a decline in international visitors. Economic uncertainty and political rhetoric may be keeping them away, with big implications for local economies that depend on them.

The river outlet pipes inside Glen Canyon Dam are getting a $9 million repair job, but conservation groups want to see more permanent changes at Lake Powell.

In Glen Canyon, home to Lake Powell, the shrinking reservoir has revealed areas that were once submerged. These scientists are counting the plants that live there, and have found that they're mostly native.

After a COVID-19 slump, Utah’s parks have seen record visitors, with spending to match, every year since 2021.

The fall of the Toilet Bowl at Lake Powell is a sad reminder that the spectacular geological arches that dot southern Utah’s landscape aren’t guaranteed to be there forever.

The geological feature, also known as the “Double Arch” or the “Hole in the Roof,” collapsed on Aug. 8. National Park Service officials said no injuries were reported.

Tourism’s growth has been both a blessing and a curse for surrounding rural communities as southern Utah’s national parks continue to bring people in.