Zion at 100 is mighty popular

ZION NATIONAL PARK — She turned 100 this year, and all those jokes about being over the hill, old as the hills and "the dinosaurs say hi" only made her feel better.

High praise, when you are the hills.

Zion National Park became a century old on July 31, marking exactly 100 years since the day in 1909 the area was designated Mukuntuweap National Monument by presidential decree.

Ten years later, Mukuntuweap — it's a Paiute Indian name meaning "straight canyon" — was changed to Zion and the designation was changed to National Park.

Not a day has since dawned that a park ranger hasn't opened the gates and welcomed in America.

This year, more of America than ever has visited the birthday park.

Through the end of August, there had been 1,980,127 visitors — exceeding the 1,948,665 who visited through the same time period in 2008.

And 2008 saw the highest Zion attendance in history, with 2,712,053 visitors.

Numbers haven't been officially tallied yet for September, but exceptionally good weather and momentum from the park's 100-year birthday bash in July has everyone suspecting that it was a big month.

Barring some kind of cataclysmic event along the order of another ice age or a sudden continental shift — or maybe $8-a-gallon gas — more people should set foot inside the park's boundaries in 2009 than any other year in its century of official national park existence.

If the weather stays good, said Ron Terry, Zion's chief of interpretation, "We're on track for another record year."

Just a few years ago, nobody saw this coming. Most of the nation's national parks, Zion included, saw declining attendance.

But then gas prices dropped and the recession hit, and suddenly America rediscovered an old great bargain: its national parks.

Zion isn't the only one on a record pace this year. Visits to all of America's national parks are up 5 percent. The record of 287 million total visits established 22 years ago, in 1987, is expected to fall by the end of the year.

Currently aiding the cause is the new PBS television series "America's Best Idea," a six-part, 12-hour documentary produced by Ken Burns. The first episode was aired nationally this past weekend.

Mike Large, the Zion ranger in charge of the Zion National Park Web site — www.nps.gov/zion — said online traffic to the page was "almost overwhelmed" after the first PBS special.

Already, Large noted, the birthday year has brought people to Zion from anywhere and everywhere.

"We've seen a lot of locals who say they haven't been here in years," he said. "Some of them talk about their ancestors who helped settle the area."

Now he expects the PBS series to "bring us even more visitors."

It's only coincidence, of course, that the national TV show should come along the very same year Zion turns 100. But it's been that kind of year. First there was the commemorative Zion Park postage stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service in June. Then came the birthday party on July 31, when everybody got in free (11,836 visited that day).

And now, in the fall, TV stardom.

A century into the game, Zion isn't just getting older; it's getting more popular.

Lee Benson's column runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com.