Customer Spotlight Series: ParksPass at Utah Tech

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You plan a fun-filled weekend getaway at your favorite state park, but when you get there, the park is at capacity and you’re turned away at the gate! If only there was a way to check park attendance before you drove out. That’s exactly the aim of ParksPass, a program through Utah Tech University. In today’s customer spotlight series, Sierra Sahleen, shares the tale of how her work is making a difference in state and national parks across Utah.

So gather ‘round the campfire as she tells how ParksPass’s technology is changing the great outdoors for the better!

What Exactly is ParksPass?

ParksPass is a project through Utah Tech University that improves experiences at Utah's 46 state parks by integrating technology systems. It replaces cash handling with virtual passes, speeding up entry and combating long lines. It also monitors park attendance in real-time to the benefit of visitors and park management.

How Did You Get Involved In This Program?

I started in 2017 as an intern for another project called Parkdata at Zion National Park. I worked alongside my boss to install our first sensor outside of Zion National Park so that we could prove to the national park that we could provide more accurate attendance data for them. They saw the results and we started installing more sensors and I started designing dashboards for them.

It took some time to get started, but we are now working to provide data for 6 national parks and Utah's 46 state parks as well as designing their annual passes and a lot of cool swag for them like stickers and t-shirts.

What’s Next for ParksPass?

One of our main goals is to provide students at the university with opportunities to learn about technology and get hands-on experience in their field. Another goal is to spread out to other states and more national parks through other universities across the United States.

Are Any Programs Competing Against ParksPass?

Because Utah Tech University has a contract with Utah State Parks to do the work that we do, we don't really have much of a competition.

What Made You Choose Stomp For Your Stickers And Swag?

Stomp has a really professional-looking website, they provide great customer support, and their prices are great. They are also great to work with on custom projects and they get the job done fairly quickly. Overall, I am happy with the great treatment by their customer support team and managers.

How exactly are Sierra and her team raising awareness for ParksPass? Through clever use of stickers, loyalty cards, and hang tag parking permits from Stomp Stickers! We’re proud that our products could make the “great outdoors” even greater.