A $1 million grant will enable the National Park Service to rebuild the Middle Emerald Pools Trail at Zion National Park/NPS

A Utah-based philanthropic organization is providing $1 million to rebuild the Middle Emerald Pools Trail at Zion National Park and help up to 20,000 school children visit one of the national parks located in Utah.

Mud slides in December 2010 forced closure of the trail, which is in Zion Canyon. The funding from the Eccles Foundation will pay for repairs and improvements to the trail, the National Park Foundation announced Tuesday.

The work is expected to require "extensive reengineering, realignment, and reconstruction," efforts that will keep the trail closed until December 2019.

Mud and rock slides in 2010 did extensive damage to the Middle Emerald Pools Trail/NPS

"Thanks to funding from the Eccles Foundation, Middle Emerald Pools in Zion National Park will get an essential infusion of support to restore and reopen the trail," National Park Foundation CEO Will Shafroth said in a prepared release. "Support like that from the Eccles Foundation plays a vital role in meeting critical need within our parks."

At the foundation, Spencer F. Eccles, chairman and CEO, said that "as we welcome the 101st year of our National Park Service, we remain committed to ensuring its vibrant future in our state."

The trail to the Emerald Pools complex began in 1932, with Civilian Conservation Corps workers using only hand tools to cut the trail into the canyon's hillside. Four trails make up the Emerald Pools area: Lower, Middle, and Upper Emerald Pools trails, and Kayenta Trail. Rated from easy to moderate, the trails make it possible for visitors to choose several different options, or even loops, depending on their abilities and desired hike length.

There are a series of three small pools, and a 50-foot waterfall that visitors can walk behind, accessed by the trails.

A section of Middle Emerald Pools Trail was wiped out in December 2010 by massive mud and rock slides precipitated by record-breaking snowfall on the Zion plateau, warm weather that month, and nine straight days of heavy rain.

While park staff tried to rebuild the trail in a weekend, the slide continued to slip. Earlier this year, another large slide caused one section of the remaining trail to slide onto the Lower Emerald Pools Trail, according to the Park Service.

The rebuilding effort is expected to involve adding steps, culverts, water bars, and stone retaining walls. Because the area is inaccessible to large equipment, the work will need to be done by hand.

At the same time, repairs will be made to the Lower Emerald Pools Trail, which suffered damage from this year's slide.

Last year, more than 660,000 people visited the Emerald Pools Trails Complex, and park staff estimate that more than 200,000 of those visitors would have used the Middle Emerald Pools Trail if it was open.

The slides took out sections of the trail/NPS