Utah marks Adventure Safe Day with push for trail preparedness

Utah’s summer trail season got an early warning label as Governor Spencer Cox declared May 16 Adventure Safe Day, a statewide push to make preparedness part of the outdoor conversation before the busy months really hit. Travel Utah cast the effort as part of Utah Forever, calling it a moment of unity, pride and preparedness built around one simple habit: plan before you leave the pavement.

That message was aimed squarely at the places Four Corners travelers know best. Adventure Safe Day was marked at Ashley Gorge Via Ferrata in Vernal, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Kanab, Dead Horse Point State Park in Moab, Goblin Valley State Park in Green River, Sand Hollow State Park in Hurricane, Snow Canyon State Park in Ivins, Wasatch Mountain State Park in Midway and Willard Bay State Park in Willard. The Flaming Gorge Flyfishing Derby, Great Salt Lake Bird Festival and Steward Moab also joined in, while staff spread out to key locations statewide with free educational materials and incentives.

The safety checklist was more specific than a generic desert reminder. Travel Utah’s Always Adventure Safe guidance said every season in Utah’s dry climate requires adequate water, and it told visitors to check forecasts, flash flood, fire danger and avalanche warnings before heading out. It also urged people to pack for unexpected weather and research road, trail and water conditions, the kind of pre-trip homework that matters on everything from a sandstone hike at Snow Canyon to a long drive toward a remote canyon rim or a spring fishing run near Flaming Gorge.

The campaign reached beyond trailheads, too. Travel Utah set up Adventure Safe Day activity at Kilby Block Party from May 15-17 at the Utah State Fairgrounds, handing out free safety checklists, activity books and more. The state also pushed business packets for Always Adventure Safe that included talking points, a messaging guide, window clings or posters, table tents, stickers and an Adventure Safe checklist, a sign that the safety message was being built into storefronts as well as trailheads.

The timing fits a state that depends on outdoor travel. Travel Utah said visitor spending generated $1.2 billion in state and local tax revenue in fiscal year 2024, supporting Utah services. Its scenic byways materials point to 27 scenic byways and a program dating to the mid-1980s, with the federal National Scenic Byway Program established in 1991. In a state that sells big skies and long drives, Adventure Safe Day turned that same landscape into a reminder that the best trip starts with water, warnings and a plan.