2 trails closed in Zion National Park

Two trails in Zion National Park have been closed by water, rocks and debris washed down by recent winter storms.

The Lower Emerald Pool Trail and a portion of Sand Bench Trail are impassable and unsafe for hikers, park officials said in a written statement Wednesday.

Those areas are expected to remain closed until they dry out enough to assess the damage. With more rain expected this week, that will not happen until after the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, officials said.

Visitors can still see the Lower Emerald Pools Falls from the Kayenta Trail, a 2-mile round trip. The Sand Bench Trail Loop remains open from the Court of the Patriarchs.

Officials said visitors to the park in Utah, 165 miles northeast of Las Vegas, should use extra care during the winter, when the freezing and thawing of wet soil can trigger rock falls in the canyon.