Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument

05/21/2026

Stage 1 fire restrictions for both NPS and BLM managed lands within Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, as well as BLM managed lands on the Arizona Strip Field Office and Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, will be in effect starting Friday, May 22, 2026. These restrictions are necessary to prevent wildfires during this period of hot, dry conditions and high fire danger.

Effective at 12:01 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time on Friday, May 22, 2026, the following acts are prohibited:

🔥 Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire with any wood or charcoal burning device

🚭 Smoking outside of an enclosed vehicle or outside in any area that is not cleared of all flammable material for at least three feet. Disposal of cigarettes/cigars in anything other than a vehicle's ashtray or in a developed area's ash tray

🧯Welding or use of any torch or metal cutting equipment

🧨Use of flares or any other incendiary devices, including shooting of exploding targets or tracer ammunition

Using portable stoves with gas, jellied petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel is permitted.
Please plan ahead and adhere to these restrictions for your own safety and the safety of others.

Image: Wildfire at Paws Pocket, 2024

05/01/2026

Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument is one of the most remote locations in the lower 48 United States. Without the right equipment, the monument can be difficult to visit. As such, Parashant staff strive to bring the park to the people! This would not be possible without our amazing community partners.

This month, Parashant has collaborated with Utah State Parks to bring programs directly to community members. We greatly appreciate all of our partners in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada for their continued collaboration in supporting local communities and helping them build meaningful connections to public lands.

Want more information on how to visit Parashant yourself? Check out the link below:
https://www.nps.gov/para/planyourvisit/4x4-vehicles-and-off-pavement-travel-safety.htm

Photo Credit: Utah Outdoor Recreation

04/19/2026

This week, we’ve highlighted the importance and beauty of dark night skies. You can help preserve dark skies by following these outdoor lighting principles.

1) Ensure lighting is necessary. Use exterior lighting only if needed.

2) Direct light only where it needs to go. Be aware of light reflecting into the sky.

3) Use recessed and fully shielded fixtures.

4) Use exterior lighting only when needed. Timers can be helpful for this!

5) Use the minimum light level and intensity necessary for the area or task.

Warm-colored lighting is less impactful than blue-violet, short wavelength lighting. Red lights even preserve night vision.

Thank you for joining Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument for International Dark Sky Week. Whether you are in an urban area, a rural community, or a remote location, every lighting choice has the potential to preserve dark night skies!

Photo Credits: Image 1, T. MIller/NPS. Image 2, NPS Infographic

04/18/2026

Grant Canyon-Parashant National Monument has world-class night skies. Near the rim of the Grand Canyon, skies can be Bortle Class 1, a measurement reserved for the darkest skies on Earth.

Even so, the dark skies of Parashant face challenges. The most prominent sky dome – or bubble of light pollution – seen from the monument comes from Las Vegas, Nevada, 80 miles away. Light pollution also increases along the i-15 travel corridor.

On extremely clear nights, a sky dome can even be seen from over 200 miles away.

But fear not! Dark Sky Week isn’t over yet. Join us tomorrow to learn how you can help keep skies dark in your own community!

Visit the National Park Service Light Pollution page at the link below to learn more about the impacts.
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nightskies/lightpollution.htm

Photo Credits: Image 1, DarkSky International. Image 2, NPS Map

04/17/2026

What makes Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument so dark?

📍Location, location, location! Parts of Parashant border the northwest edge of the Grand Canyon. The further from the i-15 Corridor and closer to the canyon you travel, the darker the skies.

⛰️ Geography. Canyons, cliffs, and other natural features help block lights from nearby population centers.

🤝 Collaboration. Parashant National Monument has worked closely with private citizens to reduce light pollution. Many private landowners voluntarily take part in artificial light curfews. Thank you!

🏕️ Lack of development. Excluding private inholdings, Parashant has only 24 exterior light fixtures across 1.4 million acres of monument lands and adhere to light pollution reduction recommendations.

Natural conditions and human effort come together to support some of the darkest night skies in the United States!

Photo Credit: T. Miller/NPS

04/16/2026

Darkness is an essential natural resource. Many plants and animals at Parashant National Monument rely on dark night skies for survival. Let’s meet some of them!

🐭 Kangaroo Rat. These small rodents forage less under high nighttime light levels. This affects the food web at large and can reduce seed dispersal of Mojave Desert plants.

🌱 Joshua Tree. Joshua Trees are pollinated by a single species of nocturnal moth. High light levels prevent the moths from flying from yucca to yucca. No pollination means no new Joshua Trees.

🦉Birds. Parashant hosts 49 species of birds who migrate at night. Artificial lighting decreases their navigational ability.

Want to learn more about night skies as a resource? Visit the National Park Service Night Skies webpage link below!
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nightskies/index.htm

Photo Credits: NPS Photos

04/15/2026

Did you know? You can view the amazing dark skies of Parashant without leaving your own home!

Parashant has three different dark sky views available on our website. The cameras update with live still photos and have even captured the aurora borealis when conditions are right.

These are long-exposure, full spectrum cameras. They not only capture celestial marvels, but also to detect hot spots up to 40 miles away! This feature can aid in wildfire response and even law enforcement operations.

Want to see these views for yourself? Check out our Lightscape webpage at the link below!
https://www.nps.gov/para/learn/nature/lightscape.htm

Photo Credit: Image 1, T. Miller/NPS

04/14/2026

Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument is considered one of the most remote areas in the lower 48 United States. As such, it boasts incredibly dark night skies.

Parashant was designated as an International Dark Sky Park in 2014, becoming the first Dark Sky Place to include Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. Today, there are two other BLM managed Dark Sky Places; Browns Canyon National Monument and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area.

Certified Dark Sky Places are dedicated to preserving dark night skies, and do so through artificial lighting mitigations, dark sky education, monitoring and more.

Want to learn more about Dark Sky Places? Check out DarkSky at the link below for the full list.
https://darksky.org/what-we-do/international-dark-sky-places/

Artwork by Tyler Nordgren, Copyright 2014

04/13/2026

It’s International Dark Sky Week!

Each April, during the new moon when skies are darkest, people across the globe celebrate the importance of natural darkness.

Dark night skies are a vital resource to Earth’s ecosystems and organisms. Examples include;

🌱 Plant and animal adaptations🦇
😴 Human sleep patterns (circadian rhythm)
🏕️ Wilderness character
📖 Cultural and historic traditions
🤩 Human enjoyment

Follow along this week to learn more about night skies at Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument!

Photo Credit: T. Miller/NPS

02/09/2026