Still have hiking to the top of Angels Landing in Zion National Park on your bucket list? If you wait until April, you'll have to pay for that fearsome experience. And you'll have to land a permit for the privilege.
The National Park Service will issue permits using online lotteries at Recreation.gov. The first lottery opens on January 3, 2022.
“Angels Landing is one of the most iconic destinations in Zion National Park and issuing permits will make going there fair for everyone,” said Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh. “The system we’ve put in place will reduce crowding on the trail, address safety concerns, and make it easy for visitors to plan ahead.”
Visitors can get a permit by entering seasonal lotteries or a different lottery the day before their planned hikes. It will cost $6 to enter any of the lotteries, and successful permit holders will pay a $3 per person fee. These funds will cover costs to manage the lotteries and for additional NPS rangers who will assist visitors and check permits on the trail. Learn when and how to enter the lotteries at this site.
This is a pilot program, and the Park Service plans to monitor the operation 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 in 2019 and 2021 and distributing tickets to use the park shuttle system in response to COVID-19 in 2020.
Angels Landing is one of many places people enjoy visiting in Zion National Park. The park recorded about 2.8 million 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 is expected to inform that planning process.
Comments
Soon they'll be charging you to go to the bathroom and you'll need a reservation besides.
For the benefit and enjoyment of .... ???? Paying to support a lottery system so that a visitor might then have the opportunity to pay for a hike ... without knowing the weather on that day; without knowing the day-to-day abilities of your companions; etc. Is there a worse problem than crowding in the National Parks? Probably yes ... administration/management.
I assume that there will be an allocated time period for a certain day to avoid crowd surges. This makes it even more difficult for travelers given the uncertainties of traveling delays. For example, if one has a permit for 8-10AM, and road construction in St George, Utah has you arriving at 10:30AM or 11:00AM, will they refuse entrance to the trail? The state of Utah created this mess with their Mighty Five tourism advertising campaign!
OMG...pay to get into a lottery, then pay if you win with no refund if you do not win plus still pay for a pass to get into the park. My GOD who are these people making these decisions.
I have hiked that trail over 100 times and did plan to go back. But I will pass. I am an American citizen, yet I am being treated like dirt.