A day after a rock slide forced the closure of the scenic drive in Zion National Park’s main canyon, the busy road has reopened after officials determined it was safe and crews cleared dust and debris from the area.
The rockfall occurred Monday at about 3:20 p.m. on Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, between the Great White Throne pullout and the Big Bend shuttle stop, prompting rangers to stop traffic in both directions and evacuate park visitors north of the slide before closing the scenic drive from the Grotto to the Temple of Sinawava, according to park officials.
The road reopened a little more than 24 hours later.
“Thankfully, there were no injuries or property damage,” Zion National Park Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh stated in a news release. “Rockfall can happen anywhere at any time in this highly erosive landscape.”
Park officials said the slide was triggered when a large block of Navajo sandstone on a cliff roughly 150 yards above the roadway failed, showering the area with some large rocks and debris that covered both traffic lanes.
Following standard procedure, park spokesperson Amanda Rowland said, the road was closed for 24 hours to give officials time to inspect the area. After a park scientist assessed the safety of the site and workers used a dump truck to remove rocks and other debris strewn across the road, the scenic drive reopened Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
As a precaution, park officials have posted caution signs, warning visitors of the rockfall zone along the road and asking them not to linger in the area. The warnings reflect the fact that rockfalls at the national park happen frequently and are difficult to predict, according to park officials.
In November 2023, for example, a cloud of dust and rock cascaded down a cliff in Zion Canyon, covering the Weeping Rock Trail area and the main road, which temporarily interrupted the park’s shuttle service. That followed an August 2019 landslide that deposited 435,000 cubic feet of debris at Weeping Rock and resulted in the trail’s closure for nearly three years.
Park officials say the “rooting of vegetation” and high temperatures likely contributed to this week’s slide.
