Editor's Note: This updates with the identity of the visitor.
A visitor at Zion National Park in southern Utah died after falling from the popular Angels Landing Trail on April 17. The fall prompted a search and rescue operation after the National Park Service was called to the trail around 2 p.m. Due to the recovery attempts, the West Rim Trail, including Scout Lookout and Angels Landing, were immediately closed.
According to a local news outlet in Salt Lake City, on April 18 the Park Service confirmed the death and that a body had been recovered. On April 20, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the State of Utah, Office of the Medical Examiner, identified the visitor as Gilberto Ramos, 68, of Laredo, Texas.
The trails were reopened Saturday morning.
Angels Landing ascends nearly 1500 feet and is lined with slippery edges and steep drop-offs along its 5-mile roundtrip trail. It includes drops of 500 to 1,000 feet down its side and a chain that visitors hang onto while climbing.
In the 1950s and 60s, guard rails were added to the trail; in 2010 a total of 55 meters of posts and chains were installed along the trail; and in 2022 Zion National Park instituted a permit system aimed at reducing overcrowding and improving the hiking experience. The permit system has significantly reduced deaths on the trail.
A 2025 study stated that, “as of 2024, local and national media reported the death of at least 17 hikers on Angels Landing Trail” and noted that it has earned the reputation as one of the most dangerous hiking trails in the United States.
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