CEDAR CITY — About 5 miles outside Cedar City, the Pyramid Ridge Campground is situated in a high desert landscape at over 6,000 feet in elevation and home to ancient-looking juniper trees growing among Southern Utah’s quintessential red rock.
Now, the site is slated for a makeover.
The Pyramid Ridge Campground expansion project was awarded $300,000 earlier this year via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as part of the Ecosystem Restoration Project.
The national restoration project has released over $55 million for 83 projects and aims to “restore our nation’s lands and waters through locally led, landscape-scale restoration projects,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
At Pyramid Ridge, the funding will be used to expand the campground, adding 10-15 additional campsites and another vault toilet for phase 2 of the project, said Jacqueline Russell, the BLM Color Country District’s public affairs specialist. Work on the project is tentatively expected to begin later this year, finishing in 2025.
“This expansion is designed to mitigate impacts on other sensitive public lands by reducing the pressure for dispersed camping in this urban interface area and to increase recreational access by offering additional camping opportunities,” she wrote in an email. “It will also link to Cedar City’s destination mountain bike trails system, the Iron Hills Trail System, which is a National Recreation Trail.”
The project is expected to disturb approximately 20 acres, according to the BLM’s planning website and the attached environmental assessment. While the area is not near land with wilderness characteristics, disturbance still creates the possibility that invasive or nonnative plants could become established. Weeds can be spread by vehicle, human and animal movement.
To address the issue, the BLM states it can implement “standard measures for rehabilitation, such as reseeding, washing vehicles to prevent the spread of weed seed, avoidance of noxious weed areas and control efforts following seeding.” The work will involve removing vegetation, requiring a reclamation plan, according to the assessment. This would include procuring a site-specific seed mix created based on various factors, including elevation and precipitation.
Ultimately, the agency found that the project would “not have a significant impact” and reported that Cedar City and Iron County could benefit from the project.
“It would allow businesses to generate income from recreation opportunities,” according to the assessment. “In addition, those businesses that provide food and outdoor gear to visitors would also benefit if more hikers, bikers and campers were staying close to the community. However, this impact would not substantially change the socioeconomic conditions of the community.”
Russel said the campground has become “extremely popular” since it was first constructed in 2022, with May 2023 data showing the site operating at 70% capacity.
“The need for expansion so soon after its opening reflects the area’s immense popularity,” she said.
Michael Innes, the Cedar City Field Office outdoor recreation planner, said BLM staff are excited about the expansion.
“This project, funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will allow us to significantly increase recreation and camping opportunities for the public,” he said.
The project is expected to increase traffic, dust, noise and wear on Shurtz Canyon Road, which leads to the campground, according to the BLM’s decision record.
“Irresponsible drivers might leave the county-maintained road and cause degradation of private land. Increases in vehicle and livestock collisions may occur. The private property values may be impacted due to the new campground,” the document states.
These concerns were expressed in public comments attached at the end of the document, with one resident saying the BLM will need to conduct additional fire management.
“The implementation of this proposed campground in Shurtz Canyon is an increased wildfire risk to not only public land but to private landowners located in the Shurtz Canyon area and to the community of Cedar Highlands, which is identified by the State of Utah as being at high wildfire risk,” the commenter said.
In the bureau’s response, staff wrote that campsites would include metal fire rings in areas where flammable vegetation has been cleared and that the campground expansion would require the BLM and law enforcement to patrol the area more frequently.
“The BLM is working to propose a vegetation treatment in the area in the next few years to directly address wildfire mitigation for the Shurtz Canyon and Cedar Highlands communities,” bureau staff wrote. “When the Three Peaks Campgrounds was developed, human caused wildfires decreased in that area due to less dispersed camping.”
Additional work at Pyramid Ridge
The BLM isn’t the only group working in the area. Iron Trailcraft has frequented the site, improving trails and recently built a bridge over a “nasty wash” connecting the new Sage Loop Trail to the Scenic Byway Trail, according to the group’s Instagram. The nonprofit is comprised of volunteers and promotes mountain biking culture in Cedar City under its parent associate, the International Mountain Bicycling Association.
Russel said the nonprofit has been “instrumental in constructing and maintaining every trail in the Iron Hills Trail System.” And while they’re “not directly involved in the campground expansion project, their work on the trails has significantly contributed to the campground’s popularity.”
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