October and November are two different trips, and the dates that split them are 25 October and 29 November. On the 25th the shuttle’s hours shorten. On the 29th the shuttle stops and the Scenic Drive opens to private cars. In between, the canyon’s color arrives, the crowds thin, and the river gets cold. Everything below is dated, from the Park Service’s own pages as they stood on 16 October 2026.
The dates, in order
| Date | What changes |
|---|---|
| 1 October | The Angels Landing lottery for 1 December to 28 February hikes opens, 8 a.m. Mountain Time |
| 20 October | That lottery closes, 11:59 p.m. |
| 24 October | Last day of the later shuttle hours: last bus up at 6 p.m., last out of the Temple of Sinawava at 7:15 p.m. |
| 25 October | Winter lottery permits issued. Shuttle hours shorten: last bus up at 5 p.m., last out of the Temple of Sinawava at 6:15 p.m. The Springdale town shuttle’s last bus moves from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. |
| 27 October | Fee-free day, for US citizens and residents only |
| 31 October | The last day of the in-park horseback season, typically, and the end of South Campground’s season |
| 11 November | Fee-free day, US citizens and residents only |
| 28 November | Last day of the park and town shuttles for the season |
| 29 November | No shuttles. The Scenic Drive opens to private cars until 25 December |
The shuttle times are on the shuttle page, and the lottery’s mechanics and odds on the permit page.
Weather
From the Park Service’s climate chart for Zion:
| October | November | |
|---|---|---|
| Average high | 79°F | 64°F |
| Average low | 48°F | 37°F |
| Days below freezing | about 1 | about 10 |
| Days with thunderstorms | about 2 | none on average |
| Average precipitation | 1.3 in | 1.4 in |
The Park Service’s summary of fall is “cooler conditions make it more pleasant to hike but layers may be necessary”: highs and lows can differ by 30°F in a day. The summer monsoon runs from July to September, and October still averages a couple of thunderstorm days, so the flood rules in the next section apply all fall.
Fall color reaches the highest elevations first and works down to Zion Canyon at the end of October and in early November, in the Park Service’s words.
The Narrows in the cold
The river hike is open in fall on the same terms as always: closed above 150 cubic feet per second, and closed whenever the National Weather Service issues a Flash Flood Warning, for at least two hours after it lifts.
What changes is the water. The Park Service puts average spring and fall water temperatures at 41 to 53°F, often colder than the air, in a canyon where very little sunlight reaches the floor. Its advice for late fall is that neoprene socks, pants, bib overalls or a wetsuit may be necessary. The Springdale outfitters rent dry bibs and dry suits for exactly this: Zion Adventures’ dry-bib package, which it makes its spring and fall rental, is linked below at $65 a day before tax and fees (about 14% at checkout), and both shops’ packages and prices are on the Narrows page. The private guided hike below includes a dry bib: watertight bib waders from October to May, with canyoneering boots, neoprene socks and poles.
Two more rules that hold all fall: the Park Service’s current advisory is not to drink the river or submerge your head in it, because of toxic cyanobacteria, and no filter makes it safe. Carry a gallon a person.
Crowds and short days
The Park Service’s own account is that visitation “begins to slow down, dropping more dramatically in November.” The shuttles run less often and for fewer hours. The practical effect is that fall mornings are easier — the lots and the first buses are less of a fight than in summer — and the afternoons are shorter than you expect: from 25 October the last bus up is at 5 p.m.
What else closes as the season turns:
- The in-park horse rides typically run through 31 October; details on the horseback page.
- South Campground closes for the winter at the end of October; Watchman is open all year. See the camping page.
- The Human History Museum closes at the end of November, after Thanksgiving.
- The high roads. The Park Service says the Kolob Terrace Road usually closes for several months from fall to spring, at Maloney Hill, and the Lava Point road is typically closed from fall into spring. The Kolob Canyons road closes often in winter. See Kolob Canyons.
Two fee-free days, with a catch
27 October and 11 November are on the Park Service’s fee-free list, and from 2026 fee-free entry is for US citizens and residents only. A non-US resident pays the regular entrance fee — $35 a car — and the $100 nonresident fee for each person aged 16 or over, as on any other day, unless someone in the car holds an annual pass. The full rules are on the fee page.
Angels Landing in the fall
The September-to-November permits were issued in July, so for a fall hike the live route is the day-before lottery: enter by 3 p.m. Mountain Time, results at 4, every day. It issued none for 5 to 8 October 2026, when the trail was closed for maintenance. The winter lottery, open from 1 to 20 October, is for December to February hikes.
Fall is a good season for the chains, cooler than summer. The Park Service’s rule holds all year: do not go up when the ground is wet or icy. Most accidents on the chains happen when the rock is wet.
Closed, and still slow
- Angels Landing was closed for scheduled maintenance from 5 to 8 October 2026, with no permits issued for those days; no closure is on the Park Service’s alert list on 16 October.
- The Watchman Trail is closed pending repairs as of 16 October, with no reopening date, and the park’s ranger-led hike on it is canceled up to 17 October, the last date of its fall series. It looked open at the end of September; the Park Service has since put the closure back.
- The tunnel road to the east side, the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, was closed to through traffic from Canyon Junction to the East Entrance from 30 September to 9 October, after a rockfall, and is open again. When it reopened, UDOT asked drivers to take care near the rockfall scene. Zion Canyon, the Scenic Drive and the shuttle were not affected. UDOT’s construction inside the park continues, Monday to Thursday, into 2027, and from 26 October it has set construction nights on which it closes the tunnel road from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The nights, the detours and the latest are on the tunnel page.
A fall plan
A three-day version of the plan on the itinerary page works in fall with two changes: start on the first bus, because the last one is earlier, and do the Narrows in the warmest part of the day with the right layers. After 29 November you can drive the Scenic Drive yourself, which changes the plan again. A trip after November, the holiday shuttle week included, is on the winter page, and the car and parking rules are on the car page.
To do the Narrows with a guide this fall, the private hike below has dates every month to February: Cedar & Sage Boutique Trekking takes your party alone up the river to Orderville Canyon, with the cold-water gear and a picnic included. Good Trip Adventures’ guided day on the Narrows page, with hotel pickup in Springdale, has no date on sale before 1 March 2027. Everything bookable at Zion, and places to stay in Springdale, are below too.
