Joe Rogan Experience #2563 - Dan Richards · Aired Oct 8, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
The military blocked off an area of the Grand Canyon using Blackhawk helicopters to prevent hikers from entering.
The finding
What the evidence shows
Parts of the Grand Canyon really are closed to the public, including the Hopi Salt Mines near where the Little Colorado River meets the Colorado. The park's official rulebook says the National Park Service closes these areas to protect sacred and cultural sites, endangered fish and visitor safety. It does not mention the military or the Pentagon. The Blackhawk patrol story comes from Kincaid cave lore and secondhand hiker tales; we found no news report or official record of military helicopters guarding a closed area.
Read the supporting source · www.nps.gov ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that the military blocked off an area of the Grand Canyon using Blackhawk helicopters to prevent hikers from entering?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. Parts of the Grand Canyon really are closed to the public, including the Hopi Salt Mines near where the Little Colorado River meets the Colorado. The park's official rulebook says the National Park Service closes these areas to protect sacred and cultural sites, endangered fish and visitor safety. Joe Rogan said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2563 - Dan Richards, aired Oct 8, 2026, at 2:25:20. The supporting source is nps.gov, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
- Not independently confirmed in this record
- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
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