With the increased popularity in recreation due to COVID-19 and the easily accessible access to Utah’s outdoors, the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation recently announced the Winter Responsible Recreation campaign. Utah is known for its amazing snow, and now’s the time to prepare for a safe and enjoyable winter outside.
“This summer, we saw outdoor recreation welcome many new users, and we expect that same trend to carry into the winter,” said Pitt Grewe, director of the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation. “Utah is a perfect winter playground that offers opportunities for everyone to get outside and enjoy the beautiful snow-covered landscapes. We want to ensure that everyone can access resources to recreate safely and responsibly.”
This campaign emphasizes six main principles for snow-bound winter enthusiasts to understand before someone goes outside to recreate in the snow:
- Know Before You Go
- Canyons, Cars, Chaos
- Powder for the Patient
- Leave No Trace
- Plan for the Unplanned
- Respect Boundaries
The Office of Outdoor Recreation gathered feedback from industry stakeholders and uses a landing page (business.utah.gov/outdoor/responsible-winter-recreation) to explain these principles and direct users to specific resources, such as canyon road conditions and avalanche danger in particular areas. There is also a toolkit available on the landing page with sample social media posts, graphics, and photos for anyone to help share the safety messages.
Winter can be one of the best times of year to get outside and recreate, but it can also be the most dangerous. It’s important to prepare now and learn about the resources available to have a great winter recreation season and enjoy recreation responsibly (#ResponsibleRecreation).