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ST. GEORGE — Reservations for a campground along the Virgin River just south of the Utah-Arizona border are going online for the first time, as officials deal with the same popularity issues as outdoor spaces in Utah and the West.
Bureau of Land Management officials announced Monday that the Virgin River Canyon Campground is moving to an online reservation system for some of its campgrounds beginning Saturday for spots on June 1 or later.
The campground is located not far from the nearly 30-mile stretch of I-15 in Arizona about 20 miles southwest of St. George. It's a popular area for picnicking, hiking and nature viewing, in addition to camping.
"The recent uptick in visitors to public lands has made obtaining a campsite at popular recreation areas like these more challenging," said Lorraine Christian, the bureau's Arizona Strip field manager, in a statement. "We are excited to provide the public with this benefit, as having the option of advanced reservations will give visitors peace of mind knowing their vacation plans are in place ahead of time."
Eighteen multi-day sites in the upper loop — allowing for stays up to 14 days — will be a part of the new advanced reservation system. All 37 of the campgrounds in the lower loop will also be available online. There will still be over 50 campsites in the upper loop that remain on the first-come, first-serve model on June 1 and later.
The campground includes paved access, drinking water, flush toilets and vehicle parking. Some of the campgrounds include pull-through RV sites, grills, picnic tables and shade structures.
Overnight camping is $8 per night at the campground for up to two vehicles, while the day-use fee is $2 per vehicle per day. In addition to the new reservation system, visitors can pay by mobile device, debit or credit using a new scanning device through the recreation.gov mobile app. Visitors can also continue to pay through the cash envelope method if they prefer that.
Monday's advanced reservation announcement comes after the campground went through a phase of recent upgrades before it reopened earlier this month. The project included restroom renovations, water and electric system upgrades, road resurfacing and including sites more conducive for people with disabilities.
It joins some popular outdoor recreation areas in the region with new reservation systems. There's a new permit lottery system in place for Angels Landing at Zion National Park that began earlier this month, while the BLM also switched to a mobile geofencing system in March for the Wave by the Utah-Arizona border.
The National Park Service announced earlier this year that a record 297.1 million visitors came to outdoor sites just within the lands it manages in 2021. That's an increase of over 60 million from 2020. The BLM has yet to release its 2021 land statistics report but reported over 73 million visitors on its lands during the 2020 fiscal year.
