Southern Utah prepares for larger crowds ahead of Spring break

Spring breakers are flocking to Southern Utah, and local leaders are preparing for the rush. Last year, Zion National Park saw more than 700,000 visits during March and April. Right outside of the …

ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — Spring breakers are flocking to Southern Utah, and local leaders are preparing for the rush.

Last year, Zion National Park saw more than 700,000 visits during March and April. Right outside of the park, the small town of Springdale is expecting to handle the majority of those visitors.

The Mayor, Barbra Bruno, says this is one of the best times of the year to visit and they usually see a lot more people.

“Well, it’s great to be here, because the weather’s great and things are starting to come to life,” she said. “We’re coming off of what we call a shoulder season, which used to be our quiet time of year. And frankly, isn’t just that quiet anymore.”

Spring break is kicking off this weekend, and it is likely Springdale will get busier.

“When I just drove over from my house at the other end of town, there was a lot of parking available. I suspect that, by tomorrow, that will not be the case. I think our town will be full of cars,” Bruno added.

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Local businesses are already seeing early signs of spring break travel. Jess Kavanagh works at Zion Adventure and says she has already seen an increase in visitors, from Utah and elsewhere.

“We’re definitely seeing plenty of people from within the state of Utah coming down this week. But every week is kind of different,” she said. “Statistically, where people are from, it kind of feels like you can track where the spring break is happening throughout the country.”

With crowds expected to build in the coming weeks, Mayor Bruno has a simple message for visitors.

“Just slow down. Our speed limit through most of Springdale is 30 and sometimes that’s even a little too fast. But just be careful. There’s a lot of traffic,” she said. “There’s a lot going on, and the bike lanes make it a little trickier on top of that.”

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Source: Utah News