Hikers frustrated by canyon vandalism

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Hikers in the canyons surrounding Salt Lake City are seeing instances of vandalism as summer progresses.

At Lisa Falls in Little Cottonwood Canyon, there is graffiti on several rocks at the base of the waterfall.

“We come out here to see the natural beauty of the rocks and the plants and someone else’s version of art isn’t welcome here,” said hiker Meagan Williams.

Williams said she had not noticed that level of vandalism last year. On social media, a person posted a picture of vandalism they saw in Red Butte Canyon. There are organizations like the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation and Salt Lake Climbers Alliance that work to beautify the canyons and organize events to scrub away vandalism. Those spray-painted tags always seem to pop back up, though.

“It’s unfortunate. We love our parks and our national parks and we want to keep them beautiful so we can come back and visit and it is very disappointing to see it defiled,” Williams said.

Williams was visiting the falls with her three-year-old daughter, Marin. She hoped seeing graffiti would not set a bad example for other young children.

“It definitely teachers younger kids who don’t know any better, they’ll think that’s okay and it’s not okay,” she said.