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A Survey of the Recreational Resources of the Colorado River Basin
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Recreational Benefits of Reservoirs
Canyon Lands of Southeastern Utah
Conservation of Recreational Resources
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A Survey of the Recreational Resources of the Colorado River Basin
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Chapter VIII:
CANYON LANDS OF SOUTHEASTERN UTAH (continued)
PRESERVATION OF EXISTING
FEATURES
The Canyon Lands of southeastern Utah have scenic, scientific, and wilderness features which are of significance to the State and Nation. The recreational and economic benefits to be gained by preserving these features may be facilitated by following the policies outlined below:
1. Roads should be constructed only when amply justified, based on positive need. Where such construction is justified, it should be performed in a manner which will render it as inconspicuous as possible.
2. Since the airplane is supplementing other major forms of transportation throughout the world, it is reasonable to assume that it eventually will be used as a means of access to the remote sections of the Canyon Lands, thereby greatly reducing the intrusion of surface transportation facilities into the scene.
3. Encourage business catering to recreational interests and tourist travel to locate in the vicinity of existing towns and certain recreational development centers, rather than at random throughout the area.
4. As the West develops, the roads which one may travel without having the feeling of being fenced in are gradually becoming fewer. Fences on both sides of the road and, to a lesser degree, pole lines, tend to separate the road from the adjoining country which creates the feeling that one is detached from it rather than being a part of it. This effect will be eliminated if only such fences are constructed as are absolutely necessary and if they are removed when their need no longer exists.
Roads.—The topography of the Canyon Lands has permitted limited travel east and west and has prohibited vehicular traffic north and south. The only east-west route which has been used to any extent in the past and has recently been improved, crosses the Colorado River at Hite. Surveys of the State Highway Department indicate that the only feasible route for an east-west highway across the Colorado River between Green River, Utah, and Lees Ferry, generally follows this old location. The route suggested by the highway survey is shown on Plate 9 (in pocket). To preserve the essential character of the area, it is questionable whether any other through highway should be constructed. Only spur roads providing access to the major centers of recreational interest are recommended. In all cases these proposed spur roads would generally follow existing truck trails and serve the grazing and mining interests as well as recreation. The spur roads should be of limited width and of a standard permitting year-round travel.
Fortunately, all of the major centers of recreational interest shown on Plate 9 (in pocket) are now accessible by automobile over trails which in most cases are very poor. It would be feasible to build good all-weather roads from the outer belt of highways to each of the suggested development sites. At these sites, or in the immediate vicinity, there is ground suitable for a landing field for small planes. While it is not absolutely essential to have a road to every landing field, such a road is considered desirable for use in hauling in equipment, building materials, and many supplies.
Air travel and landing fields.—It is believed that much of the tourist travel through the Canyon Lands will be by air because of the great distances and the necessarily circuitous routes that must be followed on land.
At the present time, one major commercial air line crosses the area on the route between Grand Junction, Colo., and Las Vegas, Nev. This line has an auxiliary landing field near Hanksville, Utah. A feeder line has been authorized to connect Grand Junction, Price, Provo, and Salt Lake City. To the south Winslow, Ariz., is the nearest point on a major air line. It appears that Grand Junction, Price, and Winslow would be the logical starting points for air tours over the Canyon Lands. At the present time there are landing fields in the area at Hanksville, at Goulding's Trading Post in Monument Valley, on the southeast side of Navajo Mountain, at Bryce Canyon, and at Fredonia, Ariz. For the safety and convenience of air travel, possible landing field locations convenient to all the major recreational centers and at certain intervening spots have been shown on Plate 9 (in pocket). If this plan were followed, at no time would a plane be more than 25 miles from a landing field.
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| Figure 107.—Mouth of Trachyte Canyon from site of former settlement of Hite. |
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| Figure 108.—Trachyte Canyon joins the Colorado River at Hite. (Air photo) |
Recreational facilities.—As has been stated, practically all of the population of the region lives in towns and limited irrigated districts. There are only a few isolated ranches. Men running cattle on the range have their homes in the towns where schools, stores, churches, and social activities are available. This practical custom has resulted in the concentration of such developments at favorable points and a corresponding complete freedom of great areas of open country from any interruption by scattered reminders of town life. It is impossible to find such a set-up in most sections of the United States where the people live on the land they graze or farm. Future developments, including major facilities and businesses catering to the recreational interests and tourist travel, should follow this pattern of land use. However, the Canyon Lands are so extensive that it would be impracticable to confine all such facilities entirely within the bordering towns. Hence on Plate 9 (in pocket) the recreational centers have been shown located considerable distances from the towns at points where the cattlemen and the visitors would most likely wish to make their headquarters while working or exploring the various sections of the Canyon Lands.
The development of the recreational centers might well be in the ranch style, offering meals and lodging, camping supplies, pack and saddle animals, guides, gasoline and oil, and the like. The suggested landing fields indicated on the map are convenient to the development areas so that they might serve both airplane and automobile travel. From these centers horseback trails might lead to the various points of interest.
The Elk Ridge center at an elevation of 8,500 feet might be primarily a summer-use area because of the heavy winter snows; the Grays Pasture-Junction Butte and the Lands End centers would have longer periods of use and the facilities and services could be provided on a year-round basis. The Needles, Hite, Hole in Rock, and Wahweap centers appear to be suitable for year-round use. Hite, with an average annual temperature of 59.7 degrees, seems to be an ideal site for a winter resort on the river and might become one of the two main centers for boating and fishing on the Glen Canyon Reservoir the year around. The other center might be on the wide water somewhere between Wahweap Creek and Last Chance Creek.
Above Hite the recreational use of the Green and Colorado Rivers, or the reservoir to be formed by the proposed Dark Canyon Dam, would logically center at Moab and at or near Green River, Utah. Moab, with its scenic setting on the Colorado River and conveniently located to the many points of interest, seems destined to become an important recreational and tourist center.
Only the Hite and Wahweap centers would be largely controlled in their development by the potential Glen Canyon and Dark Canyon Reservoirs. The importance of Hite might be materially increased by the creation of the Glen Canyon Reservoir. The development at the Wahweap site would depend almost entirely on the creation of the reservoir. There is little need for a recreational center at that point if the reservoir is not created. However, there might be a small camp on Warm Spring or Wahweap Creeks to serve the cattlemen and the few who would wish to visit this remote section. If the Glen Canyon Reservoir is not created, the main boating and recreational center serving the lower end of Glen Canyon would probably be at Lees Ferry.
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| Figure 109.—Arch Canyon from Elk Ridge. |
The Needles, Lands End, Elk Ridge, and Hole in Rock can be important centers for pack trips through the fascinating country surrounding them. Lands End sometimes has heavy snows in the winter, but pack trips can be made from there the year round as there is seldom snow in the Standing Rocks Basin around the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers.
The Grays Pasture-Junction Butte area is certain to be visited by many tourists traveling by plane and automobile because of its convenient location in relation to main arteries of travel, the interesting features of the area, and the outstanding view of the Canyon Lands.
The big flat south of the Knoll appears to be suitable for the development of a landing field and there are many good sites for a lodge and other recreational facilities. A possible lodge site indicated on Plate 10 (in pocket) is the fairly level land lying west of Muffin Butte and south of Aztec Butte near the Y in the roads to Junction Butte and Upheaval Dome.
Consideration should be given to constructing a shorter road from Moab to the Knoll by way of Sevenmile Canyon. This route would be considerably more scenic than the present road and eliminate about 24 miles of unnecessary travel, making the distance from Moab to the Knoll only 20 miles.
Of special importance in the development of this area would be the construction of well-defined trails around and into Upheaval Dome so that people may see this fascinating and almost unknown geologic wonder.
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Last Modified: Mon, Sep 6 2004 10:00:00 pm PDT
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