National Park Service Issues Quicksand Warning
Sunset at Lake Powell. (Getty Images/Mark Singelis)
Visitors to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area should watch their step—quicksand is a real hazard, not just a Hollywood cliché. The National Park Service (NPS) issued a rare alert warning that patches of quicksand may be hiding near shorelines and drainages across the 1.25-million-acre park, which stretches across northern Arizona and southern Utah and includes Lake Powell, according to the Weather Channel.
“It can look dry and solid on top but may suddenly give way,” the NPS said. “Watch for unstable, shifting, or unusually soft ground, and use caution when entering these areas.” While quicksand is “rarely life-threatening,” the agency warns that getting free can be physically draining. Their tips: stay calm, avoid thrashing, lean back to spread your weight, and move slowly and deliberately toward firmer ground. Sudden movements can cause a person to sink deeper as water mixes into the sand, reducing buoyancy.
Recent incidents highlight the danger. In December, an experienced hiker in Arches National Park in Utah became trapped in thigh-deep sand in freezing temperatures and had to be rescued after hours. In another tragic case, a 20-year-old man died in 2023 after getting stuck in tidal mud flats in Alaska as the tide overtook him, according to The New York Times.
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