Zion National Park · Springdale, Utah
Zion: red rock, a river to walk up, and a plan that works.
The permit you actually need, where the shuttle drops you, where to sleep so you can walk to the park, and the guided days worth booking. Every page dated. No operator pays to be listed here.
The permit you need, where the shuttle drops you, where to sleep, and the guided days worth booking.
The best of Zion, bookable
More trips we compare: Zion canyoneering tours Zion UTV, ATV and jeep tours Horseback riding in Zion Zion tours from Las Vegas
- Every page dated, none checked before
- No operator pays to be listed or ranked
- How we make money
Start here
Pick your hike
Angels Landing needs a permit; the Narrows needs the river under 150 CFS.
Sleep by a shuttle stop
Springdale hotels mapped by stop, 5 to 55 minutes' walk from the park. The town shuttle does not run from 29 November to 25 December.
Book the guided bits
Guided days in the canyon from $65, leaving from Springdale.
Sleep close to the shuttle
-
Springdale hotels by shuttle stop Walk times to the park
The town's shuttle map puts each Springdale hotel at a numbered stop, 5 to 55 minutes' walk from the Visitor Center. Pools, dogs, and the weeks the bus stops.
Places to stay Checked -
Where to stay near Zion Springdale, Hurricane, Kanab, Lodge
Springdale is walking distance from the entrance and sells out months ahead. Hurricane and Kanab are cheaper and cost you the mornings. The trade, town by town.
Places to stay Checked -
Zion Lodge Rooms vs cabins, 12 months ahead, the gate code
The only beds inside Zion, with rooms that open a year out. In shuttle season a code lets guests drive to the Lodge and park there, no further. Rooms vs cabins.
1 trip · from $17.50 Checked
Trails, from a riverside stroll to the chains
-
Permit
Angels Landing hike 2026 The chains, Scout Lookout, permit
5.4 miles, 1,488 feet, and a half-mile of chains along a fin with drops on both sides. The permit covers the last part, not the rest.
Checked -
The Narrows without a permit 150 CFS, gear, Big Spring
No permit, no trail. You walk up the Virgin River between thousand-foot walls until you have had enough, then walk back. Closes above 150 CFS.
Checked -
Observation Point via East Mesa 6.8 miles, no permit
A higher view than Angels Landing, no permit, and no chains. The old route is closed and most sites still say the hike is — it is not.
Checked -
Emerald Pools Lower, Middle, Upper, and when the falls run
Three linked trails off shuttle stop 5, from a paved half hour to a steep 2.2 miles. The waterfalls are seasonal and nobody tells you that first.
Checked -
Canyon Overlook One mile, a drive-up hike past the tunnel
One mile, an hour, and a view down the whole switchbacked canyon. Its highway reopened on 9 October 2026 after a rockfall closed it to through traffic.
Checked -
Permit
The Subway (Left Fork) 4 ways to a permit, $6 + $10
Two routes, one permit, two lotteries and a $10 per person fee. No guide may take you, and the permit is only issued in person at the Wilderness Desk.
Checked
Compare every trail → by permit, drop-offs, distance and whether you end up in the river.
Get the logistics right
-
Zion in October and November 2026 The dates that change
Zion Canyon is open, and the tunnel road east reopened 9 Oct. Last buses earlier from 25 Oct, none from 29 Nov, when cars return. Highs 79°F, then 64°F.
Checked -
Angels Landing permit 2026 Lotteries, dates, odds, $6 + $3
You cannot just turn up. Two lotteries, $6 plus $3 a head, odds the Park Service puts at about 50% (8% on a holiday Sunday, 100% midweek), and the 2026–27 dates.
Checked -
Zion shuttle 2026 Stops, first and last buses, holiday week
For most of the year the Scenic Drive is closed to private cars. Nine stops, free to ride, no reservation — and the one thing that ruins mornings.
Checked -
Zion entrance fee 2026 $35, and the $100 non-resident fee
$35 a car for 7 days. Non-US residents 16+ pay $100 each on top — unless anyone in the car holds an annual pass, which covers every passenger. Under-16s are free.
Checked -
Do you need a car at Zion? The shuttle, the bus, the tunnel
Zion Canyon's road is shuttle-only from about March to November and open to cars in winter, except 26 Dec to 2 Jan. The tunnel road east reopened 9 October.
Checked -
Parking at Zion Space counts, Springdale rates, 9 a.m. fill
The park lots are often full by 9 a.m. The Nature Center overflow holds 38 and joins the Pa'rus Trail. Springdale charges $15 to $25 a day by zone.
Checked -
Zion itinerary 1 to 3 days built around the permit lottery
Enter the Angels Landing day-before lottery by 3 p.m., learn at 4, and plan tomorrow around it. One, two and three days, the last-bus rule, and the rain plan.
Checked
All planning guides → from flash floods to bringing the dog.
Word when something changes
Every page here carries the date we last checked it. This is that same checking, sent to you instead of waited for — a permit lottery date moving, the shuttle season changing, a trail closed for rockfall.
Leave an address and we'll write when something in Zion actually changes. That is the whole list — no schedule, no filler, and some months nothing at all.
Or skip the form entirely — everything we send is also posted on the changelog, free and dated.
Photo credits
- Hikers wading the Narrows: Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0
- Bikes on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive: NPS Photo / Wil Marischen, Public domain
- Zion from the air: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Springdale's main street: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Eagle Crags from Springdale: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- State Route 9 through Springdale: Greg Willis, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Zion Lodge: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Angels Landing and the Great White Throne: Óðinn, CC BY-SA 2.5 CA
- The Zion Narrows: Sakturner, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Observation Point from Angels Landing: Aneta Kaluzna, CC BY-SA 2.5
- The Lower Emerald Pools Trail: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0
- The view from the Canyon Overlook Trail: Óðinn, CC BY-SA 2.5 CA
- The Subway: God of War, CC BY-SA 3.0
- The Riverside Walk in October: An Errant Knight, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The chains on Angels Landing: Andrew Heneen, CC BY 4.0
- A Zion Canyon shuttle bus: gillfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Zion National Park entrance sign: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0
- Zion Canyon from the Watchman: Fiocarretti, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The shuttle facility by the visitor center: Fredlyfish4, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Pine Creek canyon from Canyon Overlook: Christian David, CC BY-SA 4.0
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
