Visitor use surveys at Arches National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Arches National Park Visitor Study

	Social Science Program National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Visitor Services Project

OMB Approval #1024-0224

Expiration Date:05/31/3016

Arches National Park

Visitor Study

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: The Paperwork Reduction Act requires us to tell you why we are collecting this information, how we will use it, and whether or not you have to respond. This information will be used by the National Park Service as authorized by 54 U.S.C. 170001. We will use this information to evaluate visitor experiences and expectations at Arches National Park in order to better manage the resources in the park. Your response is voluntary. Your name and contact information have been requested for follow-up mailing purposes only. When analysis of the questionnaire is completed, all name and address files will be destroyed and will in no way be connected with the results of this survey. A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number

Burden Estimate: We estimate that it will take about 25 minutes to complete this questionnaire. You may send comments concerning the burden estimates or any aspect of this information collection to: Matt Strawn, Study Director, SESRC, Wilson-Short Hall #133, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4014, 509-335-2350 (phone), matthew.strawn@wsu.edu (email).

OMB Approval #1024-0224

Expiration Date:

IN REPLY REFER TO:	United States Department of the Interior NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Arches National Park P.O. Box 907 Moab, UT 84532
Fall 2016 Dear Visitor: Thank you for participating in this important study. We want to learn about the expectations, opinions, and interests of visitors to Arches National Park. This information will help us improve our management of this site and better serve you, our visitor. This questionnaire will be given to only a few visitors, so your participation is very important! It should only take about 25 minutes after your visit to complete. When your visit is over, please complete the questionnaire. Seal it with the stickers provided on the last page and drop it in any U.S. mailbox. If you have any questions, please contact Ellen Rovelstad, Study Coordinator, Resource System Group, Inc. , 1515 SW 5th Avenue Suite 1030, Portland, OR 97201, 802-295-4999 (phone), ellen.rovelstad@rsginc.com (email) We appreciate your help. Sincerely, Kate Cannon Superintendent

DIRECTIONS

At the end of your visit:

1. Please have the selected individual (at least 18 years old) complete this questionnaire.

2. Answer the questions carefully since each question is different.

3. For questions that use circles (O), please mark your answer by filling in the circle with black or blue ink.

4. Seal it in the postage-paid envelope provided.

5. Drop it in a U.S. mailbox.

Your Visit To Arches National Park

Topic area 2: INFOSOURCE9 and Topic area 5: RECSAFE3

1. a) Prior to this trip, how did you obtain information such as directions, accommodations, availabilities of activities, etc. to plan to your visit to Arches National Park? Please mark (●) all that apply in column (a).

b) Specifically, how did you obtain information about safety measures such as exposure to sun, heat, staying hydrated, flash floods, proper footwear, staying on trails etc.). Please mark (●) all that apply in column (b).

(a) Trip planning information (b) Safety information

O Did not obtain information prior to this visit O

O Previous visits O

O Friends/relatives/word of mouth O

O Inquiry to park via phone, mail, or email O

O Arches National Park website (nps.gov/arch) O

O Other website (Please specify) O

O Moab information center O

O Cable TV Visitor Chanel-Moab hotels O

O Grand County Travel Council O

O Local businesses (hotels, motels, restaurants, etc.) O

O Maps/brochures O

O Newspaper/magazine articles O

O Other units of the National Park System (NPS) O

O School class/program O

O Social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.) O

O Utah Travel Council O

O Television/radio programs/DVDs O

O Travel guides/tour books (such as AAA, etc.) O

O Other (Please specify) O

Topic area 2- INFOSOURCE4

2. If you used the park website www.nps.gov/arch prior to or during this visit, please rate how helpful the website was in planning your visit.

Did not use park website	Not at all helpful	Slightly helpful	Moderately helpful	Very helpful	Extremely helpful
O	O	O	O	O	O

Topic area 6- PERSAFE6

3. On this visit, did you and your personal group feel prepared for common safety situations (such as exposure to sun, heat, access to drinking water, flash floods, use of proper footwear, etc.) that you encountered in Arches National Park?

O No O Yes O Other (please explain)_____________________________

Topic area 12: SAW10

4. a) During this visit, did you and your personal group encounter safety information in Arches National Park?

O No O Yes

b) If Yes, where did you encounter safety information in the park?

Topic area 5: RECSAFE4

5. To your knowledge, does Arches National Park have any rules/regulations regarding climbing on arches, staying on trails, graffiti, collection of park resources, pets in the park?

O No

O Yes please explain how you became aware of the rules/regulations prior to this visit ___________________________________________

Topic area 5: RECACT1, RECACT2

6. a) On this visit, did you and your personal group take a tour with an independent guide (not a park ranger)?

O Yes O No  skip to the next question

b) If you took a tour with an independent guide, did they explain the park rules and regulations to you and your personal group?

O Yes O No

Topic area 2: ITIN2

7. When did you make the decision to visit Arches National Park? Please mark (●) only one response.

O On the same day of the visit

O Couple of days before the visit

O A week before the visit


O 1 month before the visit


O 2-6 months before the visit


O More than 6 months but less than a year before the visit

O A year or more before the visit

O Don’t know/can’t recall

Topic area 2: ITIN9 and ITIN10

8. a) Were you aware of the following reservation system at Arches National Park, prior to your visit?

Fiery Furnace Tour reservation system	Yes	O	No	O
Campground reservation system	Yes	O	No	O

b) On this visit to Arches National Park, how you and your personal group make a tour or campground reservation? Please mark (●) all that apply for each type of reservation.

	Tour reservation	Campground reservation
Did not make reservation	O	O
Called the toll-free telephone number	O	O
Reserved online via the National Park Service reservation site	O	O
Other Please specify	_________	___________

Topic area 7: EVALSERV26

9. a) On this visit did you and your personal group use Recreation.gov?

O Yes O No skip to the next question

b) If Yes, please rate the quality of the reservation services, Please mark (●) one for each item.

	Very poor	Poor	Average	Good	Very good
Sufficiency of information provided	O	O	O	O	O
Efficiency of service	O	O	O	O	O
Ease of use	O	O	O	O	O
Accuracy of reservation	O	O	O	O	O

Topic area 10: ECON5

10. On this trip, how much total time did you spend within Arches National Park?

Number of hours, if a day trip

Number of days, if greater than 1 day

Topic area 3: TRANSMODE3

11. a) What forms of transportation did you and your group use to travel between your overnight accommodations or home and Arches National Park? Please mark (●) all that apply.

O Private vehicle (car, SUV, pickup, RV, motorcycle, etc.)

O Rental vehicle O Taxi/limousine/Uber

O Bicycle O On foot

O Hotel shuttle van/courtesy bus

O Package tour motorcoach/bus

O Outfitter/commercial tour van/shuttle

O Other (Please specify: )

b) If your group arrived at Arches National Park in private or rental vehicles, how many vehicles did you and your group use?

Number of vehicles

Topic area 3: TRANSERV5

12. Approximately how long did you have to wait in traffic congestion to enter Arches National Park on this trip? _____ Number of minutes

Topic area 3: TRAFFIC4

13. Overall, compared to what you expected, how much traffic congestion did you experience during your visit to Arches National Park? Please mark (●) only one response.

O I didn’t know what to expect


O Less traffic congestion than I expected

O About the same as I expected


O More traffic congestion than I expected

Topic area 3: PARKING15

14. a) During this visit to Arches National Park, did you experience any parking problems?

O Yes O No

b. If yes, where did you encounter parking problems?

Topic area 9: OPMGMT16

15. a) On this visit, were the signs inside Arches National Park directing you and your personal group to facilities and locations adequate?

O Yes O No O did not use any signage

b. If No, what signage problem did you encounter?

Topic area 4: DEST19

16. Which other local and regional attractions did you (or do you plan to) visit on this trip to Arches National Park? Please mark (●) all that apply.

O Canyonlands National Park – Island in the Sky district

O Canyonlands National Park – Needles district

O Dead Horse Point State Park

O Colorado/Green River

O Visit other public lands/BLM recreation sites

O La Sal Mountains

O Hovenweep National Monument

O Natural Bridges National Monument

O Capital Reef National Park

Topic area 4: DEST22 and Topic area 6: CROWD23

17. a. On the list below, please list the order in which you and your group visited the following sites at Arches National Park. Please use the map to help you locate the site. If you did not visit a site, please check “did not visit”

b. For the locations that you visited, how crowded did you feel at these locations? Please mark (●) one for each location

Site	Order of visit	Did not visit this location	How crowded
			Not at all crowded	Slightly crowded	Moderately crowded	Very crowded	Extremely crowded
Visitor Center	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Moab Fault Overlook	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Park Ave	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
La Sal Mountains viewpoint	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Courthouse Towers	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Balanced Rock	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
The Windows	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Delicate Arch	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Wolfe Ranch	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Delicate Arch viewpoint	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Fiery Furnace viewpoint	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Fiery Furnace	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Sand Dune Arch	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Broken Arch	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Skyline Arch	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Devils Garden Primitive Trail	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Landscape Arch	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Double O Arch	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Klondike Bluffs/Tower Arch	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Eye of the Whale	______	O	O	O	O	O	O
Lost Springs Canyon	______	O	O	O	O	O	O

PLACE HOLDER FOR MAP

Topic area 10: ECON21

18. On this visit, which one of the following entrance fees applied to you and your personal group? Please mark (●) only one response.

O Did not pay a fee

O 7 day entrance fee ($25/vehicle, $10/individual)

O Used a pass (Golden Age, Annual SEUG pass, Golden Eagle, Golden Access, Military, 4^th grader)

O Fee include in a tour package

O Don’t know

Topic area 5: RECACT7

19. a) On this visit, did you and your personal group attend any of the following ranger-led activities/programs or interpretive programs? Please mark Yes or No for each program.

b) If No, why not? Please be specific

	Yes	No	If No, why not?
Fiery Furnace guided hike	O	O	__________________
Windows guided hike	O	O	____________________
Balanced Rock geology talk	O	O	_____________________
Junior Ranger Station (at Visitor center)	O	O	_______________________
Campground Evening program	O	O	_____________________
Informal ranger contact on a trail	O	O	_____________________

Topic area 4: FVIS3

20. a) If you were to visit Arches National Park in the future, would you be interested in taking a guided ranger led tour?

O Yes O No

b) If Yes, where would you and your group like to take a guided ranger led tour?

21 a) If you were to visit Arches National Park in the future, would you be interested in taking an independent guided (not a park ranger) tour?

O Yes O No

b) If Yes, where would you and your group like to take an independent guided (not a park ranger) tour?

c) If Yes, what subjects would you and your group would you like to learn about during the tour? ________________________________________________

Topic area 4: RECEXP1

22. Below is a list of activities available at Arches National Park.

a) On this visit, in which activities did you and your personal group participate? Please mark (●) all that apply in column (a).

b) if you were to visit in the future, which activities would you and your group participate? Please mark (●) all that apply in column (b).

	Participated on this visit	Future visit
Walking/hiking	O	O
Photography/painting/drawing	O	O
Auto touring/sightseeing	O	O
Overnight backpacking	O	O
Rock climbing	O	O
Canyoneering	O	O
Ranger-led tour/hike	O	O
Commercial guided tour/hike	O	O
4-wheel driving	O	O
Visiting visitor center	O	O
Viewing sunrise/sunset	O	O
Bicycling	O	O
Camping	O	O
Picnicking	O	O
Nature study	O	O
Self-guided hike in Fiery Furnace	O	O
Other (please specify)	________	________

Topic area 5: REACT10

23. a) During this visit to Arches National Park, did you and your personal group have any personal interaction with a park ranger other than on a ranger-led tour program?

O Yes O No


b) If Yes, where did you interact with a ranger?

O On trail O At the Visitor Center

O Other location (please specify)_____________

24. Below is a list of possible experiences you may want (prefer) to have while visiting Arches National Park. For each item please indicate how important the experience is to you on your visit to the park. Please mark (●) one for each item.

Experience	How important?
	Not at all important	Slightly important	Moderately important	Very important	Extremely important
To be close to nature	O	O	O	O	O
To be my own boss	O	O	O	O	O
To be where things are fairly safe	O	O	O	O	O
To avoid the unexpected	O	O	O	O	O
To learn about new things at Arches	O	O	O	O	O
To view scenic beauty	O	O	O	O	O
To be near others who could help if you needed them	O	O	O	O	O
To feel my independence	O	O	O	O	O
To view wildlife	O	O	O	O	O
To learn more about nature	O	O	O	O	O

Topic area 7: PREF4

25. The following is a list of characteristics commonly associated with backcountry and wilderness areas. Please indicate how important each of the items listed below was to you as a reason to use the trails in Arches National Park.

Wilderness/backcountry characteristics	How important?
	Not at all important	Slightly important	Moderately important	Very important	Extremely important
Remoteness	O	O	O	O	O
Solitude	O	O	O	O	O
Primitive recreation/few facilities	O	O	O	O	O
Pristine natural environment	O	O	O	O	O
Physically challenging/demanding	O	O	O	O	O
Unconfined recreation/free from rules/regulations	O	O	O	O	O
Require self-reliance	O	O	O	O	O
Fostering a sense of humility toward nature	O	O	O	O	O
Fostering spiritual connection	O	O	O	O	O
Fostering immersion in nature	O	O	O	O	O

Topic area 6: EVALSER22

26. What did you like most about your visit to Arches National Park?

27. What did you like least about your visit to Arches National Park?

Topic area 5: RecEXP9

28. Approximately how far did you go hiking during this visit to Arches National Park? Please mark (●) only one response for your entire visit.

O Did not hike on this visit

O Less than 1⁄2 mile

O Between 1⁄2 and 1 mile

O Between 1 and 2 miles 


O Between 2 and 5 miles 


O Between 5 and 10 miles 


O 10 miles or more 


Topic area 4: DEST4

29. a) On this visit, did you and your personal group desire to explore the backcountry of Arches National Park (approximately 2 miles from the trailhead)?

O Yes O No

b. If Yes, were you able to access the backcountry?

O Yes O No  What prevented you from accessing the backcountry

Topic area 6: CROWD9

30. The number of other people I saw during my hike in the Fiery Furnace today interfered with my sense of solitude.

Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly agree
O	O	O	O	O

Topic Area 9: OPMGMT11

31 It is the National Park Service’s responsibility to protect this park’s natural and cultural resources/attributes and visitor experiences that depend on these resources or attributes. How important is the protection of the following to you and your personal group? Please select only one answer for each resource/attribute/experience.

	Not at all important	Slightly important	Moderately important	Very important	Extremely important
Clean water	O	O	O	O	O
Clean air	O	O	O	O	O
Scenic views	O	O	O	O	O
Natural quiet/sounds of nature	O	O	O	O	O
Wilderness values (solitude, primitive/remote recreation, self-reliance	O	O	O	O	O
Native plants	O	O	O	O	O
Wildlife	O	O	O	O	O
Cultural sites	O	O	O	O	O
Recreational opportunities	O	O	O	O	O
Interpretive/information programs	O	O	O	O	O
Access to parking at hiking trails	O	O	O	O	O
Park Avenue	O	O	O	O	O
Balance Rock	O	O	O	O	O
Window	O	O	O	O	O
Double Arch	O	O	O	O	O
Delicate Arch	O	O	O	O	O
Sand Dune Arch	O	O	O	O	O
Broken Arch	O	O	O	O	O
Skyline Arch	O	O	O	O	O
Devil’s Garden	O	O	O	O	O
Tower Arch	O	O	O	O	O
Visitor Center	O	O	O	O	O
Campground	O	O	O	O	O
Paved roads	O	O	O	O	O
Other ______________________	O	O	O	O	O

Topic area 9: OPMGMT13

32. Please indicate the extent to which you and your personal group would support or oppose each of the following potential management actions at Arches National Park. Please mark (●) one answer for each management action.

Management action	Strongly support	Support	Neither support or oppose	Oppose	Strongly oppose	Don’t know/ No opinion
Timed entry to the park to reduce crowding	O	O	O	O	O	O
Implement trail limits to reduce crowding	O	O	O	O	O	O
Implement trail limits to protect park resources	O	O	O	O	O	O
Manage commercial tour buses to reduce traffic congestion and crowding	O	O	O	O	O	O
Limiting commercial use authorizations in wilderness areas	O	O	O	O	O	O
Delineate desert trails in wilderness with signs and rock cairns (permanent installation)	O	O	O	O	O	O

Topic area 1: Group 5

33. Including yourself, how many people were in your personal group during your visit to Arches National Park on the day you were contacted for this survey?

Number of adults (18 years or older)

Number of children (under 18 years)

Topic area 1: GROUP4

34. On this visit to Arches National Park, which one of the following best describes your personal group? Please mark (●) one.

O Myself (alone)

O Myself with family (including spouse/partner and/or other family members/relatives)

O Myself with friends

O Myself with family and friends

O Other (Please specify)

35. On this visit to Arches National Park, were you and your personal group with the following type of organized group?

Commercial guided tour group	Yes	O	No	O
Club/special interest organization	Yes	O	No	O
School/educational group	Yes	O	No	O
Other organized group (scouts, business group, church group, etc.)	Yes	O	No	O

Topic area 1: GROUP3

36. For your personal group during your visit to Arches National Park on the day you were contacted for this survey, please provide the following information. (If you don’t know the answer, enter “DK.”)

	Current Age	U.S. ZIP code or name of country other than U.S.	Number of visits to Arches in last 12 months, including this trip	Number of visits to Arches in your lifetime including this trip
Yourself
Member #2
Member #3
Member #4
Member #5
Member #6
Member #7

Topic area 1: EDUC1

37. What is the highest level of formal education you have completed? Please select only one response.

O Less than high school

O Some high school, no diploma

O High school graduate/GED

O Vocational/trade school certificate

O Some college, no degree

O Two-year college degree

O Four-year college degree or Bachelor’s degree

O Master’s degree (or Graduate degree)

O Ph.D., M.D., J.D., or equivalent

Topic area 1: LANG1

38. a) Would you or any member of your personal group prefer to receive information about Arches National Park programs and services in languages other than English

O Yes O No Skip to the next question

b) If Yes, which languages:_____________________________________________

c) If Yes, which programs or services that you would prefer to receive information in languages other than English?

Topic area 4: FVIS11

26. On a future visit to Glen Canyon NRA, what interpretive programs/information services would you and your group like to have available at the park? Please mark all that apply.

O Not interested in interpretive programs  Go on to Question 27

O Roving rangers available to answer questions O Night sky programs

O Campfire programs O Children’s programs

O Indoor exhibits O Outdoor exhibits

O Electronic media/devices available to visitors (downloadable digital files, podcasts, cell phone tours/apps, interactive computer tours, audio, etc.)

O Other (Please specify: )

Topic area 6: OPMNMT1

27. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your visit to Glen Canyon NRA?

Thank you for your help! Please seal the questionnaire with the stickers provided and drop it in any U.S. mailbox.

Printed on recycled paper

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