Zion Opens Its Backcountry to Wheelchair Users

SPRINGDALE, UTAH — Zion National Park in Utah has begun lending all-terrain wheelchairs. The move makes it one of the first parks in the country to open its rugged trails to visitors who use them. Unlike standard wheelchairs, these have oversized, heavily treaded wheels, and some models are battery-powered. They are designed for the dirt, gravel, roots, and uneven ground that would stop an ordinary chair.

The chairs are free to borrow. They let visitors who had been confined to paved overlooks reach viewpoints and trail sections that were previously off-limits. Advocates for accessible recreation have pushed for this kind of change for years. They argue that access to nature should not depend on whether a person happens to be able to walk a trail.

Park officials described the program as a small change with an outsized effect. It widens who gets to experience one of the country's most dramatic landscapes. Roughly one in four American adults lives with some form of disability. Supporters hope other national parks will study Zion's rollout and adopt similar programs of their own.

For a visitor who had long since given up on the backcountry, the chairs can turn a paved viewpoint into a genuine trail. They can also earn someone a place in a family photo taken somewhere it could never have been taken before.

Why it matters: Roughly one in four American adults lives with some form of disability, and programs like this test a simple proposition — that public spaces paid for by everyone should be usable by everyone, not just those who can hike.

What to watch: Whether other national parks adopt the same program after Zion's rollout.