Whether it’s the heat or recreational reasons, people have flocked to the Jordanelle Reservoir this year.
Utah State Parks spokesperson Devan Chavez said a “big bang” in visitation in May that hasn’t let up since and is likely a result of the rising temperatures.
Sunday Park City-area resident Chris Rama went for a day on the water. He said he arrived to find signs stating it would be 1 to 2 hours before he could even park. He was allowed in soon after but said it took about 45 minutes to find a spot before he got to hit the beach.
“Eventually we successfully got one, actually in a really good condition,” he said. “Then when we got on the beach, I mean, it wasn't something where I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ and ‘there's people here when there weren't before,’ but it was just a lot more crowded. It wasn't like we were one, you know, two, or three feet away from the party next to us; We definitely had a little bit of our own space, and we were able to play music.”
Chavez said numbers for June 2023 aren’t available yet, but the park received nearly double the visitors this May when compared to May 2022.
This Pioneer Day weekend, Jordanelle State Park Ranger Alex Agin said people need to arrive earlier than usual for easy parking.
“If you're planning your adventure for the day, the weekend, arrive early,” Agin said. “The last couple of weekends, we've hit boat and park closure before noon, and that only allows one car to leave and one car to be admitted into the park. We've seen waits up to two hours. So, just plan a full-day adventure, get here early, and hydrate, sunscreen, have fun, be safe, and come back again.”
He also reminded boaters everyone 13 and younger must wear life jackets out on the water, and there must be one on board for every person 14 and older on a boat. That applies to all water “vessels,” including canoes and paddleboards, he said.
He also said people who plan to head out on the water, especially those without much experience, should brush up on their knowledge with an online test called Boater IQ.
“One of our biggest issues that we have here are the people that recreate — they just come and rent out the jet skis or the boats without previous experience,” Agin said. “For a great resource on that, there is a test, the Boater IQ test. It takes five minutes to do, and it goes over the waterway markers, the buoys, what particular buoy means no wake zone or boat keep out or diver flags.”
Rama also said he hopes people will be mindful of garbage so everyone can enjoy the beach.
“When I see that amount of crowds, I'm always a little bit concerned that people are going to be leaving trash, and then volunteers are going to spend time cleaning up when it's so easy for people to clean up after themselves,” he said. “There are trash cans and big recycling bins and stuff pretty much all around the park.”
More about the Jordanelle Reservoir is available here.
