The Needles district of Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah remains closed to all public use as the Babylon Fire continues to burn in the adjacent Bears Ears National Monument. The National Park Service evacuated staff and visitors from the Needles on the evening of June 28 as the fire pushed north toward Utah Highway 211, the main access road into the district, and has kept the closure in place ever since.
The fire itself has not burned inside Canyonlands’ boundaries, but its northward spread has been enough to keep the district shut for more than a month. The park service has canceled all day-use permits, overnight backcountry permits, and campground reservations for the Needles through the end of July, and says further cancellations later in the summer will depend on how the fire behaves in the coming weeks.
The rest of Canyonlands, including the more heavily visited Island in the Sky district, remains open, though the park is warning that smoke from the Babylon Fire and other regional wildfires may reduce air quality and visibility across the region. Visitors are advised to check conditions on AirNow.gov before planning strenuous hikes or overlook visits anywhere in southeastern Utah this month.
The closure adds to a rough wildfire season for public lands in the Southwest, with several other Utah and Arizona parks and forests also under elevated fire restrictions this summer. Travelers with Needles-area trips planned for August should check the park’s alerts page directly, since reopening will hinge on containment progress that has not yet been announced.
Sources: National Park Service, Moab Times
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