Spatial patterns of overflights at Bryce Canyon National Park, updated 2023–2024
Olstad TA , Peterson BA, Hutchinson JM, Beeco JA , Joyce D. 2025. Spatial patterns of overflights at Bryce Canyon National Park, updated 2023–2024. Science Report. NPS/SR—2025/242. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2307673
This study explores spatial patterns of overflights at Bryce Canyon National Park (BRCA), using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data collected between August 14, 2023 and September 03, 2024. It expands upon an earlier report using data collected only through March 2024, looking for potential changes to patterns during busy spring and summer seasons. The methodology remains largely the same. Phase 1 of analysis considered all overflights, finding commuter traffic following major flight paths dominates airspace near the park. Phase 2 focused on low-level overflights travelling below 11,500 feet mean sea level (MSL) and within 10 miles of the BRCA boundary. It found that most flights occur between 10,000–10,500 feet MSL. Flights below 8,500 feet MSL concentrate around the Bryce Canyon Airport just outside the park and the main scenic amphitheater within the park. Phase 3 of analysis removed all civil patrol flights, major airlines, and survey flights, leaving low-level overflights including air tours. Kernel density analysis revealed that these flights concentrate in the northwest corner of the park at an altitude interval of 501–1,000 feet above ground level (AGL), and over the main amphitheater and Fairyland / Tropic Ditch between 1,500–2,000 feet AGL. Temporal analysis indicates that the most popular time of day for overflights is midday, though there are few weekly or seasonal patterns. Fixed-wing single engine airplanes are the most common aircraft, used for two thirds of flights, with relatively few rotorcraft. Very few of the datapoints either follow flightpaths designated in the park’s Air Tour Management Plan or are attributable to permitted commercial air tour operators. While ADS-B data can help park managers understand general patterns of air traffic in the vicinity, for BRCA, ADS-B alone does not provide enough useful information for monitoring commercial air tour traffic at this time.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Olstad, Tyra; Peterson, Brian; Hutchinson, J.; Beeco, J.; Joyce, Damon
- Date of Issue
- 2025-02
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2307673
- Units
- BRCA , NRSS , NSNSD
- Keywords
- ADS-B, air tours, aircraft tracking, overflights, spatial analysis