Zion National Park has introduced a free, single-day all-terrain wheelchair that lets visitors with mobility disabilities reach trails that standard chairs simply cannot handle. The device features an extra-wide, balloon-like wheel designed to smooth out bumps on rough or uneven ground, and according to the National Park Service, it is the first accessibility device of its kind at any national park in Utah.
As reported by KSL NewsRadio, the chair was donated to Zion by the Zion Forever Project, and it allows wheelchair users to explore more of the park's trail network without any extra cost. The device is manufactured by Extreme Motus, a Payson, Utah-based company, and it is built with Wheeleez balloon tires and independent rear brakes specifically engineered to move through sand, gravel, and uneven trail surfaces, according to Good News Network. Retail versions of the same model are hand-built in Utah and sell for roughly $4,500 before optional attachments, per Extreme Motus — a price tag that puts off-road mobility equipment out of reach for many individual travelers.
The park's chair was acquired through a private donor's gift to 2LIV4, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on expanding access to outdoor adaptive equipment, which purchased and gifted the device to Zion, according to Extreme Motus. The Zion Forever Project, which formally donated the chair to the park, serves as the official nonprofit partner not just for Zion but also for Cedar Breaks National Monument, Pipe Spring National Monument, and Dixie National Forest.
Which Trails Open Up
Zion recommends the chair for several specific routes, including the Pa'rus Trail, Riverside Walk, Weeping Rock Trail, Lower Emerald Pools Trail, and Deer Trap Trail, according to the KSL NewsRadio report. The park also designates a longer list of additional trails as suitable, among them Taylor Creek Trail, Middle Emerald Pools Trail, Coalpits Wash Trail, East Rim Trail, Observation Point Trail via East Mesa, Cable Mountain Trail via Stave Spring, West Rim Trail, Hop Valley Trail, Wildcat Trail to Hop Valley, Grotto Trail, and Chinle Trail.
One notable limitation: the Middle Emerald Pools Trail cannot connect to the Lower Emerald Pools Trail because of the width of the path, meaning chair users have to plan their routes with that gap in mind. Because the all-terrain chair is longer than a standard wheelchair and too long to fit on Zion's regular shuttle, the park issues borrowing parties a free pass that allows them to drive a personal vehicle directly into Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.
The Catch: You Need a Pusher
The chair is not self-propelled — it has no mechanism allowing the user to move it on their own, and it requires another person to physically push it over the terrain. To check out the chair at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center, both the rider and the pushing companion must sign a liability waiver, present valid identification, show proof of insurance, and complete a short orientation session led by a park ranger, according to Extreme Motus.
The equipment is handed out on a first-come, first-served basis, with no advance online reservation system and no storage space at the park for visitors' personal wheelchairs. That arrangement could create real uncertainty for families traveling long distances during Zion's busiest months, since the park draws roughly 65% of its annual visitation during the peak six-month stretch from April through September, according to the National Park Service. Zion welcomed more than 4.9 million recreation visits in 2025, making it the second most-visited national park in the country behind Great Smoky Mountains National Park, per National Parks Traveler.
Part of a Broader National Push
Zion's program joins a small but growing list of similar efforts across the National Park System. Georgia's Cumberland Island National Seashore maintains non-motorized Extreme Motus balloon-tire wheelchairs at its island ferry docks, giving visitors a way to cross sandy, unpaved terrain to reach the coast, according to the National Park Service's page on Cumberland Island accessibility.
In Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park offers a free three-wheeled all-terrain wheelchair for reservation on rugged mountain paths, funded through a donation partnership with the Sam Schneider Legacy Foundation. Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore took an earlier and different approach, launching the National Park Service's first all-terrain track chair initiative back in 2019 and expanding it to three free motorized track chairs by 2025 with volunteer support, according to the Leelanau Ticker. Together, these programs point to a patchwork but expanding effort by parks and their nonprofit partners to make rugged, unpaved terrain reachable for visitors who use wheelchairs.
