ST. GEORGE — The National Park Service announced last Tuesday that it had updated the compendium for the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
What does that mean?
“A park’s compendium serves as public notice, identifies areas closed for public use, provides a list of activities requiring either a special use permit or reservation, and elaborates on public use and resource protection regulations pertaining specifically to the administration of the park,” according to an NPS press release.
The current version of the compendium was updated in January and can be found here along with an accompanying appendix posted here.
So what’s new?
The compendium updates primarily focus the use of off-road vehicles (ORVs) and some areas around Lake Powell where they can and cannot be used. Some areas are currently closed to ORV use while others are being limited in their access.
Updates include:
- Identifying the Lone Rock Play Area as a day use area (closed from sunset to sunrise).
- Closing the Bullfrog North Off-Road Vehicle Area Access Road to all motor vehicle traffic.
Shoreline access areas are deemed “open” or “closed” to ORV travel based on lake elevations. Lake elevations rising above the identified lake elevation defined for each area in the compendium will be deemed “open” to motorized access.
Based upon lake elevations projected by the Bureau of Reclamation for 2024, the following shoreline access areas are closed to ORV traffic:
| Bullfrog North | Farley Canyon |
| Bullfrog South | Red Canyon |
| Dirty Devil White Canyon | Blue Noah |
| Crosby Canyon | Hite Boat Ramp |
Motorized access remains lawful on designated National Park Service (NPS) roads located within closed shoreline access areas, unless the NPS road or area is individually closed as stated within the compendium at 36 CFR § 1.5 Closures and public use limits.
For more information on Off-Road Vehicles in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, click here.
The Glen Canyon National Recreation Area covers 1.25 million acres around Lake Powell and offers visitors a wide array of water-based and backcountry recreation opportunities, according to the NPS website.
“The recreation area stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah, encompassing scenic vistas, geologic wonders, and a vast panorama of human history,” the website states.
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