Understanding extended day use of corridor trails
Pettengill P. 2017. Understanding extended day use of corridor trails. Park Science. 33(1):84-90
Studies conducted over nearly 40 years illustrate that solitude is important to visitors in the backcountry of Grand Canyon National Park. However, with the increasing popularity of endurance day hiking and trail running, opportunities for visitors to experience solitude along the park’s classic rim-to-rim trails are becoming scarcer. This study used a questionnaire to assess visitor perceptions of what travel conditions along the trails should be and compared them with what conditions actually are as estimated by automated traffic counters, systematic staff observations, and hikers’ perceptions of the number of encounters with others. Results from the normative and objective approaches demonstrate how often visitors may be experiencing unacceptable conditions. The survey also measured visitor perceptions of various management interventions that could be considered to increase opportunities for solitude.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Pettengill, Peter
- Units
- GRCA
- Keywords
- day hiking, Grand Canyon National Park, trail running, visitor experience, visitor use management, visitor use planning