Nina Pinette is from Grand Junction, Colorado. In late November, she stopped with some friends just outside Richfield, Utah to try out some biking trails.
“We were in St. George for the weekend and are on our way home and thought we’d check out a new trail system,” she said, standing next to her white van in a dirt parking lot near the freeway.
“We saw it online and also heard from a friend of ours that had ridden here,” she said. “A lot of the trails we’re used to back home are rockier, but we heard here maybe they’re a little bit faster and flow-ier, which is also super fun.”
Pinette’s crew is an example of the people local officials say have “discovered” Sevier County and contributed to a boom in tourism. The draw is similar to most other destinations in Utah: outdoor activities.
County officials say they’ve been encouraging people to come visit in order to help diversify their economy since local coal mining could start decreasing in about 15 years.
But, that effort has put a strain on their search and rescue and emergency services resources.
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To read more, visit KUER.org.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.
