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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent

Easter weekend at the Little Sahara Sand Dunes attracted more visitors this year than it has for many years.

Each year there is an Easter weekend pilgrimage to Little Sahara but the Bureau of Land Management says they’re seeing an upward trend in numbers from the last couple of years.

More than 18,000 people set up camp, turning Little Sahara into a literal city. The BLM expected that more than 20,000 would show up by the weekend’s end.

Thousands more people who didn’t want to pay to get into the park are in the surrounding areas.

“You see these groups all together down below, and it creates this big sprawl that’s quite phenomenal when you look down,” said Hannah Cowan, the public affairs specialist for the BLM West Desert District.

She also said that sand fans are showing up earlier than ever, likely because the weather forecast was favorable. She said that some began making the trek to the dunes as early as the Monday or Tuesday before Easter weekend, to stake out their spot.

Doug Anderson, Juab County Sheriff, said that it had been a long winter and people were just happy to be out in the beautiful weather.

“Every year more people come to our county to visit than live in our county year round,” Anderson said. “That gives law enforcement quite a challenge.

Sand Mountain is always one of the busiest spots in Little Sahara and riders in dune buggies, on sand rails, on off road ATvs, double wides, on quads and dirt bikes made good use of the sand paradise.

Cowan said that the national sand area features 60,000 acres of rolling dunes.

“We just want the holiday to be safe for everyone who comes to the Dunes,” said Anderson. “We do all we can to make it a safe area for families. We want the site to be family-oriented.”

He said that law enforcement officers were on the lookout for illegal drugs and alcohol in order to screen out those who could cause unsafe conditions.

“It is illegal to drive an ATV while under the influence of alcohol or drugs but the biggest issue is that those driving DUI are a hazard,” said Anderson.

He said that law enforcement geared up to keep visitors to the Sand Dunes safe. With sand fans in the neighborhood of 20,000 flocking to the Dunes, it takes a great deal of help to keep the weekend safe for all who like to use the area to recreate.

“It was be a multi-agency operation,” said Anderson. “There were officers from many agencies throughout the state here to help out.”

Law enforcement officers were on duty at the Sand Dunes from the Utah Highway Patrol, Nephi City Police Department, the sheriff’s office, Utah State Parks and Recreation, the Utah County Sheriff’s Department, the Department of Public Safety Alcohol Investigators, the Juab Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team and other participants from law enforcement agencies state-wide.

In addition, the Juab County Ambulance Association was on hand as was AirMed.

“We had a mobile dispatch center at the Dunes,” said Anderson.

“We would like to caution folks to wear helmets while they are out on the sand,” he said.