A rockfall in Zion National Park along Zion Canyon Scenic Drive caused the road to close earlier this week.
In the late afternoon on Monday, the Park Service received multiple reports of a rockfall near the Big Bend Shuttle Stop. Those stuck north of the event were evacuated with the help of park rangers, according to a park release.
The affected section of road was closed for 24 hours after the event for monitoring. Once park officials deemed the area safe and removed 9 cubic meters of material, the road reopened Tuesday afternoon.
The park’s physical scientist assessed the rockfall and determined that it was caused by a 7-meter by 10-meter block of Navajo Sandstone dislodging from the cliffside nearly 144 meters above the roadway. Vegetation rooting and high temperatures likely contributed to the rockfall, the park noted in their statement.
Jeff Bradybaugh, Zion National Park Superintendent warned, “Rockfall can happen anywhere at any time in this highly erosive landscape.”
While several visitors were in the area, no one was injured in the event.
Salt Lake City’s KUTV2 posted videos that visitors sent in of the scenic road before and during the rockfall.
Zion Canyon Scenic Drive remains closed to cars, bikers and pedestrians north of The Grotto due to yesterday’s rockslide.
— Olivia Kelleher (@livkellehernews) February 25, 2025
Take a look at these before and after – dust settling after the slide started. @KUTV2News pic.twitter.com/4br9ARAvz3
Terri French and her husband were enjoying a day biking down the canyon and were near the Big Bend area when the slide occurred.
“Just as we were passing this group of people, I heard a loud sound that started out like a crack of thunder. Immediately, someone in the turnout yelled, ‘Rockfall!'” French told the Deseret News.
French and her husband were able to pedal their way out of danger and reconvened farther down the road.
Although the road is reopened, park officials are urging visitors not to linger in that area of the park. “Rockfall in Zion is frequent and unpredictable,” they said in the statement. “It’s difficult to predict when or where the next rockfall will happen.
