East Canyon State Park, a 680-acre boating and fishing draw about 30 miles northeast of Salt Lake City, will be the first in the state system to offer yurts for rent.

Yurts are semipermanent, circular structures that have served as the traditional dwelling place of nomads in central Asia for generations. Yurts have become increasingly popular among recreation users in the United States in recent years, including several on U.S. Forest Service lands in Utah.

The four structures are part of the newly renovated state park camping grounds at East Canyon and are expected to open in late October or early November. They will be available for year-round use.

They will rent for $60 per night and can be reserved by calling the Division of Parks and Recreation at 801-322-3770 in Salt Lake City or 800-322-3770 from the rest of the state.

The structures - one wheelchair-accessible - each sleep six adults. Each includes a propane stove, two Adirondack chairs, futon seating, a bunk bed with a trundle stored underneath, small coffee table, food preparation table, electrical outlets and lights, and a locking door with key.

Outside, a propane-powered grill sits on a deck with picnic tables and benches. A wood-burning stove called a chimenea is also outside.

There are no bathrooms inside the tentlike structures, which have screen windows and a bubble top that can be opened or closed depending on the season and time of day. But a new shower and restroom complex with running water is a short distance away.

Visitors will need to bring bedding or sleeping bags, pillows, camp cookware and cooking supplies, small and split kindling for the chimenea and eating utensils. No cooking is allowed in the yurts. Pets and smoking also are barred inside the yurts. And renters will be responsible for a light cleaning after use.

Division of Parks and Recreation director Mary Tulius said the agency has been contemplating building yurts at a campground since she and then-director Courtland Nelson saw the structures at a 1997 conference.

"I have wanted to do this for a long time, but the timing was not right," she said. "As we have seen, trends in recreation change; some people don't want to camp in a tent but don't have access to an RV. These fill a niche."

John Sullivan, the park manager at East Canyon, said he hopes the state-owned yurts will extend the recreation season at the reservoir-oriented park, which, due to its proximity to Salt Lake City and Ogden, has always been popular with boaters.

He said the yurts also will complement winter activities, such as snowmobiling, cross-country skiing and ice fishing for smallmouth bass, crappie and trout.

The completion of the yurts marks the end of phase two of a three-part rebuilding of East Canyon State Park that has been accomplished with the help of federal dollars from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

"The campground was rebuilt from the underground up with new power, sewer and water," said Sullivan.

The improvements included a new gatehouse and office complex, new ranger residence, water and power added to all campsites, three new restrooms with showers, two additional vault toilets, 10 new day-use shelters and two expanded group shelters, expanded parking, paved campsites and a rebuilt and expanded concession area.

Sullivan said the final phase of the project will take place on the south end of the reservoir at the Big Rock and Rivers Edge Campground, with competition scheduled next fall. That project will include additional campsites with pads and shelters, three new vault toilets and expanded parking.

Day-use fees at East Canyon are $7 per vehicle. Campgrounds with full hookups run from $18 to $21 per night; primitive campgrounds are $9 per night. Group camping at Large Spring and Mormon Flat is $50, plus a reservation fee.

Tulius said that with the help of the Bureau of Reclamation, which built dams at many of the state park facilities, campgrounds at Rockport, Deer Creek, Willard Bay and East Canyon have been completely rebuilt and renovated. Starvation Reservoir near Duchesne will be the next campground to get a makeover, followed by Scofield State Park.

* TOM WHARTON can be contacted at wharton@ sltrib.com. His phone number is 801-257-8909. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@sltrib.com.

Yurt so good

$60 per night, reserve by calling Division of Parks and Recreation: 801-322-3770 or 800-322-3770.

Campground remodel: East Canyon State Park, about 30 miles northeast of Salt Lake City, is the first in the state system to offer yurts for rent.