New Angels Landing permit lottery in Zion National Park opens for applications

An undated file photo from 2017 shows hiker descending the Angels Landing route with near 1,000-foot drops on both side, Zion National Park, Utah | Photo by Caitlin Ceci/Zion National Park, St. George News

ST. GEORGE —Planning a visit to Zion National Park this spring? Starting Monday and until 11:59 p.m. MT on Jan. 20, recreators can apply for a permit to hike at Angels Landing between April 1 and May 31, according to a press release issued by the park.

File photo of the queue to hike Angels Landing, Zion National Park, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of the National Park Service, St. George News

“We expect many visitors will want to apply for a permit, so we took care to make our process accessible, flexible, and fair,” Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh said in the release. “Lotteries were the right fit for Angels Landing because they give certainty about application periods and flexibility so that people can fill out the application when it’s convenient for them.”

Need to know 

  • Applicants can choose up to seven preferences of different days and times or ranges of days and times to hike.
  • This ranked-choice list will be entered into the lottery so that applicants will have multiple chances to get a permit in every seasonal lottery.
  • Everyone can enter the seasonal lottery once at any time from Monday to Jan. 20.
  • Applicants who do not get a permit in the seasonal lottery can apply again in a different lottery the day before their planned hike. Learn how to apply at this website. Learn about the other day-before lottery online.

Recreators can also apply by calling 877-444-6777 from 10-12 a.m. ET, every day except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

This 2015 file photo shows the last leg to the top of Angels Landing in Zion National Park, Utah, March 11, 2015 | Photo by Don Gilman, St. George News

On Jan. 25, applicants will receive an email containing the lottery results. This means hikers with permits can start planning hikes to Angels Landing ahead of time. For example, hikers with permits to hike in May will have up to four months to plan trips.

If you plan to visit on or after June 1, you can apply to the appropriate seasonal lottery later in the year. The lottery schedule is posted at this site, and the park will share news releases and social media updates when those permit lotteries open, the news release states.

About Zion’s Angels Landing Pilot Permit Program 

On and after April 1, everyone hiking past Scout Lookout to Angels Landing needs to have a permit. This means you need a permit to hike on the half-mile section of trail with chains. Hikers do not need a permit to go to Scout Lookout.

2019 file photo of the line forming at the Grotto to hike Angels Landing over Memorial Day weekend, Zion National Park, May 25, 2019 | Photo courtesy of Zion National Park, St. George News

This is a pilot program, and the National Park Service will monitor and adjust it as needed. The pilot permit program reflects comments from nearly 1,000 members of the public, park neighbors and other stakeholders. It also reflects lessons the park service learned by metering the number of hikers on the trail to Angels Landing in 2019 and 2021 and from distributing tickets to use the park shuttle system in response to COVID-19 in 2020.

Angels Landing is one of many places people enjoy hiking in Zion National Park. The park recorded about 2.8 million total visits in 2011 and nearly 4.5 million visits in 2019. As the number of people who visit Zion continues to rise, the park service is preparing a plan designed to provide high-quality visitor experiences and sustainably manage park resources.

The Angels Landing Pilot Permit Program will inform that planning process. The park service says they plan to share an update and ask for public feedback later this year.

Learn more about Zion’s Visitor Use Research and read a response to public comments about issuing permits at Angels Landing at this website.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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