Zion National Park announces dates for Angel’s Landing applications — here’s how to get yours
Dec 11, 2023, 7:06 PM | Updated: Dec 12, 2023, 6:48 am
The trail to Angels Landing in Zion National Park is filled with switchbacks. Hikers must return the way they came. (Brian Whitehead, NPS)
(Brian Whitehead, NPS)
SPRINGDALE, Washington County — Hiking to Angels Landing, one of Zion National Park’s most popular destinations, is strenuous, but with some scheduling, getting a required permit doesn’t have to be the difficult part.
Since 2022 the National Park Service has required a permit to make the 5-mile roundtrip and it said since the pilot program started in has issued nearly 400,000 permits. Now it is advising potential hikers to mark their calendars to prepare for the four seasonal lotteries for 2024. The application dates are below.
2024 Angels Landing seasonal lotteries
- Lottery opens Jan. 1 — Jan 20, permits issued Jan. 25 for hike dates March 1 — May 31.
- Lottery opens April 1 — April 20, permits issued April 20 for hike dates June 1 — Aug. 31.
- Lottery opens July 1 — July 20, permits issued July 20 for hike dates Sept. 1 — Nov. 30.
- Lottery opens Oct. 1 — Oct. 20, permits issued Oct. 25 for hike dates Dec. 1 — Feb. 28, 2025.
Each of the lotteries opens at 8 a.m. on the first day, Utah time, and closes at 11:59 p.m. on the last day of the lottery period.
In addition to the seasonal lottery, there is a lottery for permits one day prior to hiking if any openings are available. It opens at 12:01 a.m. the day prior to the hike and closes at 3 p.m. Both the seasonal lottery and the one-day prior lottery are available here.
For seasonal lottery entries, you will get to pick seven ranked days and times or windows of days and times you want to hike.
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The seasonal system opens up 90 quarterly hiking days; participants enter the lottery during a 20-day period and permits are issued five days after it closes, giving potential hikers time to prepare their trips. The NPS said what it calls the Pilot Permit Program has accommodated more than 80% of the use it recorded on the trail in 2019 and 2021.
There is a $6 fee to enter the lottery, which covers up to six people and is nonrefundable. Those who get slots will get an email informing them of the time and date and a notice of a $3 charge per hiker.
NPS said rangers have observed and hikers have reported the program spread hikers throughout the day, resulting in less crowding and congestion. Zion National Park, which saw 5 million visitors in 2021, has other hiking destinations too. The program is said to be part of the work to ensure landscapes, plants, animals and human history are conserved.
The National Parks Service employs more than 20,000 people who care for U.S. national parks. More information is available at NPS.gov.
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