Zion permits and the shuttle, explained

Zion has three rules that trip up first-time visitors: the Angels Landing permit, the wilderness permit for the top-down Narrows, and the shuttle season that closes the main road to cars. Everything else, including most of the famous day hikes, needs only a park entrance pass. We rechecked every rule below with the National Park Service on 1 Oct 2026.

For how to fit them into a trip, see our 2-day Zion itinerary.

Angels Landing is the one trail on Zion Canyon Scenic Drive that needs a permit for a day hike. The rule applies to the chained section beyond Scout Lookout, about half a mile of narrow rock fin to the summit. The trail up to Scout Lookout, including Walter's Wiggles, is open to everyone with an entrance pass. Rangers check permits at Scout Lookout.

The seasonal lottery is your best chance, because you can list several dates and times. The day-before lottery is useful if you are already near the park and flexible, but you are competing with everyone else in Springdale that evening.

A permit names the person who applied, the date and a start-time window. It cannot be transferred, and the named person must be in the group. You can reduce the number of people on a seasonal permit up to 2 days before the hike and get the per-person fee back, but you cannot add people. Day-before permits cannot be canceled or refunded.

The full rules are on the park's Angels Landing permit page, and applications go through Recreation.gov.

The Narrows has two routes and two sets of rules. Walking upstream from the Temple of Sinawava, the last shuttle stop, needs no permit as far as Big Spring, about 5 miles in. This is what most visitors do, and it is a day of wading, not a technical hike. The top-down route starts at Chamberlain's Ranch, outside the park, and runs 16 miles downstream. It needs a wilderness permit, in one long day or with one night at a designated campsite. Longer backpacking trips in the Narrows are not allowed.

For a top-down day hike the park charges a $6 reservation or lottery fee, which is not refundable, plus $10 per person, which is refundable. An overnight trip costs $20 per permit plus $7 per person per night. You collect the permit in person at the wilderness desk in the Zion Canyon Visitor Center. The park's Narrows permits page has the current details.

The closure rules apply to everyone, with or without a permit. In spring, snowmelt often keeps the flow above the limit for weeks, and in summer the risk is flash floods from storms that may be miles away. The visitor center posts the flow and the flash flood forecast every morning.

From March to late November, Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is closed to private vehicles, and the park shuttle is the only way up the canyon other than walking or cycling. The shuttle is free with your entrance pass, and you do not need a separate ticket. It starts at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center, by the south entrance, and stops at every main trailhead up to the Temple of Sinawava.

A second line runs through Springdale, with stops along the main road to the pedestrian entrance by the visitor center. Use it. The visitor center parking lot is often full by mid-morning in season. Outside the shuttle season, and outside the winter holiday periods when the park sometimes runs it, you can drive Scenic Drive yourself, but trailhead parking fills early.

The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, which crosses the park to the east entrance through a long tunnel, stays open to private cars all year. Large vehicles are restricted on this road between Canyon Junction and the east entrance. A vehicle that is more than 11 feet 4 inches tall, 7 feet 10 inches wide, 35 feet 9 inches long or 50,000 pounds, counting mirrors and attachments, is not allowed on it, so RV drivers should read the park's large vehicle page first.

Every visitor needs an entrance pass. The standard pass is sold per vehicle, not per person, and it covers everyone inside a private vehicle for up to 7 days. Visitors arriving on foot or by bicycle pay per person, and motorcycles have their own rate.

For a US family visiting two or three parks in a year, the $80 pass pays for itself quickly. For international visitors, the numbers changed in 2026. A couple from abroad in one car now pays the $35 vehicle fee plus $100 each, or $250 for the nonresident annual pass, which also covers the nonresident fee. If you plan to visit more than one of the big western parks, the annual pass is usually the cheaper option.

The current fees are on the park's fees and passes page. Buy passes at the entrance stations, which prefer card payment.

Most people who apply for Angels Landing do not win, so plan for that from the start. The West Rim Trail to Scout Lookout is open without a permit and has most of the climbing and a long view down the canyon. The East Mesa Trail to Observation Point, from outside the park, looks down on Angels Landing from above. Canyon Overlook, east of the tunnel, is a short walk to a big view. Our 2-day itinerary builds a full day around these.

If you are staying near the park for several days, enter the day-before lottery every evening you could hike. Each entry is a separate $6 application, so the cost adds up, but it is a real second chance. Do not buy permits offered for sale by third parties. Permits name the applicant and cannot be transferred, and a ranger at Scout Lookout will turn you back.

For the top-down Narrows, the fallback is the bottom-up route, which needs no permit and covers the most famous stretch of the canyon, Wall Street. If the river is closed because of high flow, no route is open, with or without a permit; choose a dry hike and check again the next morning.

Anyone who wants to reach the summit of Angels Landing, hike the Narrows from the top or drive into Zion Canyon in season is affected by at least one of these rules. Visitors from outside the United States are also affected by the 2026 fee change, whether they hike or only drive through on the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway.

If you are only doing the Riverside Walk, the Pa'rus Trail, the Watchman Trail or the bottom-up Narrows, you need an entrance pass and nothing else. Groups on commercial tours follow separate rules through their operator.

Three to six months before. Decide your dates and check which seasonal Angels Landing lottery covers them. Apply in the window, with several date and time choices. Book your room in Springdale at the same time.

One to two months before. Buy an America the Beautiful pass if it makes sense for your trip. If you want the top-down Narrows, look at advance reservations on Recreation.gov.

The week before. Check the shuttle schedule and the Narrows flow. If you did not win Angels Landing, plan to enter the day-before lottery and pick a backup hike for the same day.

On the day. Carry your entrance pass and any permit on your phone, downloaded, since signal is weak in the canyon. Be at the shuttle by 7am for the big hikes.

The biggest change in 2026 is the nonresident fee and the new pass prices for international visitors. The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway also now has size and weight limits for large vehicles.

Two older changes still catch people out. Angels Landing has required permits since 2022, so trip reports from before then are out of date. And the classic trail to Observation Point from Weeping Rock has been closed since rockfalls in 2019; the viewpoint is now reached by the East Mesa Trail, from outside the park.

Check that your travel insurance covers hiking and emergency evacuation, especially if you are visiting from abroad; medical care in the US is expensive. Our insurance guides cover what to look for. Mobile signal is weak in Zion Canyon, so download maps, passes and permits before you leave Springdale; our connectivity guides help with a US data plan.

In an emergency, call 911, or tell a ranger or a shuttle driver. Summer heat and flash floods are the most common reasons for rescues in the park. Start early, carry water and check the forecast every morning.