Park closes Sand Hollow jumping rocks for cleanup; trash, graffiti problem

HURRICANE – The popular jumping rocks, at Sand Hollow State Park, will be closed Friday through Sunday to give the park staff a chance to clean up garbage that has been left behind by visitors.

The park is seeing a growing problem with trash and graffiti, and the closure is needed to catch up with the accumulating trash.

“The problem we’re having at the jumping rocks … is that among the wide variety of things to do here, all of the beauty, it’s being marred by littering, graffiti, things being thrown into the water even,” Darren Tucker, assistant park manager, said.

The need for litter and grafitti cleanup drive the state park's closure of the jumping rocks at Sand Hollow State Park for the weekend.  Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 24, 2015 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News
The need for litter and grafitti cleanup drive the state park’s closure of the jumping rocks at Sand Hollow State Park for the weekend. Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 24, 2015 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

The jumping rocks, as they’ve come to be called, are a part of a sandstone formation located not far from the boat ramps at Sand Hollow Reservoir. However, the area’s popularity is also leading to a problem created by careless visitors.

The problem has gotten so bad, that about 100 pieces of garbage could be seen on the jumping rocks formation Monday.

“And that’s just since yesterday,” Tucker said.

Sand Hollow camp hosts and the park staff remove the garbage, but many of the park’s seasonal workers have recently gone back to school, leaving the park with fewer available hands to help.

“We do what we can, but we’re spread pretty thin,” Tucker said. “It needs to be done. We’ve been putting it off.”

Trash and litter, sometimes glass, in the water at Sand Hollow Reservoir is a growing problem and a safety concern. Sand Hollow State Park, Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 24, 2015 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News
Trash and litter, sometimes glass, in the water at Sand Hollow Reservoir is a growing problem and a safety concern. Sand Hollow State Park, Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 24, 2015 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

More than 100 man-hours were spent on the most recent round of graffiti removal, Tucker said. Much of the graffiti consists of people’s initials, but vulgar words and pictures have also been carved into the rocks.

Graffiti removal was performed by work crews and an electric grinder for the deepest carvings. The rocks are a little different color after the removal process, Tucker said, but after three or four rainstorms, it looks quite natural.

And it’s not just the aesthetic problem that garbage in a beautiful setting like Sand Hollow creates, Tucker said, it’s also a safety issue with broken glass that can cut visitors’ feet and is hard to clean up.

“People are wanting to come here and enjoy (the park), and I want everyone to enjoy it,” Tucker said.

Tucker hopes more extensive closures won’t be needed, and that the community will embrace the idea of taking good care of the park.

“We encourage people to take out what they brought in,” Tucker said, “the ‘leave no trace’ idea.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

 

 

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10 Comments

  • beentheredonethat August 24, 2015 at 9:56 pm

    Is it graffiti, or petroglyphs for future generations?

  • Leo August 25, 2015 at 7:47 am

    Hillbillies!

  • old school August 25, 2015 at 10:16 am

    Here’s a new idea, why don’t you start policing the area and writing citations like you’re supposed to be doing in the first place. Accumulation of that much trash in that short of time makes it sound like you’re staff isn’t doing anything at all. Seems like nobody around here wants to do their job and this is just another example. You get some people in there that will enforce the rules word will get around and it won’t happen anymore.

  • fun bag August 25, 2015 at 10:24 am

    well, the lake is already full of them nasty little parasite critters…whats a lil trash gonna hurt?..

    • Dexter August 26, 2015 at 8:42 am

      Is thems the same O crittas that be a goin around and be a nockin on people’s doors uninvited.? LOL.!

  • MariaLouise August 25, 2015 at 10:49 am

    I’ll never understand wanting to trash the land where you recreate. Or any land for that matter.

    Maybe they should stop picking it up. Let them see it all still there when they come back. Of course the wind will have distributed it far and wide by then.

  • abby August 25, 2015 at 11:10 pm

    How very sad. My mom always told us to not poop where you eat!

    • Dexter August 26, 2015 at 8:38 am

      Well then you should of listened to your mother

  • Leo August 26, 2015 at 7:32 am

    Old school is right. The article indicated they could close that area. Same old crap! Close down areas they can’t control by a few and punish the one’s who are innocent!

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