National Park Service Zion National Park U.S. Department of the Interior Wilderness Guide The Official Wilderness Guide of Zion National Park Plan Your Trip Welcome to Zion National Park. Zion is a spectacular network of colorful canyons, forested mesas, and striking deserts. All of the land within the park boundary is preserved by the National Park Service for the benefit of the public. In addition, a remarkable 84 percent of this extraordinary landscape is preserved as wilderness. This designation ensures that over 124,000 acres of the park will continue to be a place where nature and its “community of life are untrammeled by man, a place where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” PREPARE AND PLAN or stream courses, or on slickrock AHEAD whenever possible. Avoid stepping on Traveling into the vegetation or biological soil crusts. wilderness, even on short Do not build or destroy rock cairns. trips, can be challenging They are used to mark the trail or route. and risky and requires If placed incorrectly, they can mislead careful planning before you begin. Each year, people are injured or die while visitors, causing unnecessary damage exploring the park. Your safety depends and potential injuries. Also, do not build on your own good judgment, adequate structures including benches, tables and preparation, and constant observation. shelters. Leave the area in a natural state for others to enjoy. Camping is limited to designated sites in much of the Zion not write or carve on natural surfaces. bags or trash bags are highly LEAVE NO TRACE Wilderness. In areas where at-large Feeding wildlife is illegal and unhealthy. recommended to transport solid waste. More than 60,000 people camping is permitted, camp at least 200 Animals can become aggressive when fed. If you do not have a disposal bag, human receive permits to visit feet from water and out of view of trails Store food and trash responsibly. waste can be buried in a small hole 4 to 8 the Zion Wilderness each and streams. Camp one-quarter mile Allow others to enjoy the peace and inches deep and 200 feet from any water year. Please show respect from springs. Campfires are not allowed solitude of the park. Keep your group sources, rivers, trails or campsites. All for your national park, fellow visitors, in the wilderness. Please use a gas stove. quiet and limit the size of your group. human waste must be carried out of the and future generations. Virgin River Narrows in waste It is illegal to remove anything from Carry all of your trash out of the park. disposal bags. Stay on the trail. If you must leave the the park. Leave the flowers, rocks, and This including toilet paper, food scraps trail, travel in canyon bottoms, in river everything else for others to enjoy. Do and human waste. Human waste disposal Published 2019 Reservations & Permits Permits are required an additional charge for a permit that is long lines for last minute permits. When a for all overnight trips, determined by the size of your group. slot canyon day trip is fully booked online Contact Information including climbing through the Calendar reservations system Zion National Park bivouacs, all through- Many of the permits for Left Fork (The or the Advance Lottery, the Last Minute Superintendent hikes of The Narrows Subway) and Mystery Canyon are Drawing becomes an option. Individuals Jeff Bradybaugh and its tributaries, all canyons requiring secured through the Advance Lottery can submit an application for the Last Mailing Address the use of descending gear or ropes, prior to calendar reservations becoming Minute Drawing to obtain any remaining Zion National Park and all trips into Left Fork (The Subway). available. reservations for permits. The Last Minute Springdale, UT 84767 All permits (including those with Drawing is limited to one request per Park Information reservations and those awarded though ADVANCE LOTTERY individual per canyon. 435 772-3256 the lottery) must be obtained in person RESERVATIONS Last Minute Drawing applications are on the day before or day of the trip at Wilderness Information The Advance Lottery is for trips through completed online. Entries can be the Zion Canyon or Kolob Canyons 435 772-0170 Left Fork (The Subway) and Mystery submitted as early as one week prior to Visitor Centers. Use the park’s online Canyon. Due to the popularity of these a trip date until two days before at noon Website reservation system at www.nps.gov/zion/ www.nps.gov/zion areas, the park created an online lottery MT. The drawing is held at 1:00 pm MT, planyourvisit/wilderness.htm. for reservations. The Advance Lottery two days before a trip date. Any spaces E-mail does not run from November through not taken through the drawing will be [email protected] GET A PERMIT March due to a low demand for permits, available as Walk-in Permits the day There are several ways to obtain a permit Lost and Found however, permits are still required for before a trip date. Report at any visitor center for your trip into the Zion Wilderness. these areas any time of year. Calendar Over half of all available permits are reservations can still be made. Applicants will be sent a notification Emergencies secured using the advance reservation email with information about the status 911 or 435 772-3322 system. The remaining permits are Advance Lottery applications are of their request. If a reservation is obtained through the Last Minute completed online. Entries must be awarded, the permit must be obtained Drawing (canyoneering day trips) or submitted three months prior to your before the trip at a park visitor center. Permit Fees as Walk-in Permits (backpacking trips). planned trip. Entries are limited to one Must be 18 years of age to apply for Fees help cover the costs of issuing request per individual per canyon per lottery, reservations, and Last Minute permits, wilderness patrols, resource monitoring, and trail repairs. Fees are CALENDAR RESERVATIONS month. Entrants can request three Drawings. non-refundable and based on group size. Visitors can reserve a wide variety of prioritized dates. The non-refundable trips using the online reservation system. lottery application fee is $5.00. WALK-IN PERMITS • $15.00 for 1 to 2 people Please note that calendar reservations are • $20.00 for 3 to 7 people About one-third of wilderness campsites not permits. Visitors with calendar Applicants will be sent a notification • $25.00 for 8 to 12 people are not available through the reservation reservations must pick up their permits email on the fifth day of the following system. They are made available as at either the Zion Canyon or Kolob month with information about the status visit the Zion Canyon Wilderness Desk Walk-in Permits and can be obtained Canyons Visitor Center before beginning of their request. If a reservation is to complete a short orientation and sign the day before your trip starts. Any slot their trip. awarded, the permit must be obtained a program agreement form. canyon or climbing permits not taken before the trip at a park visitor center. through the reservation system are GROUP SIZE LIMITS MAKING A CALENDAR available as Walk-in Permits. Wilderness Occasionally, a few spaces remain after Large groups result in larger impacts. All RESERVATION campsites, climbing areas, and slot the Advance Lottery has been held. groups traveling into the Zion Wilderness Reservations are available online during canyons that are not listed in the These spaces can be reserved through the must follow the group size limit for that a three month time frame. On the fifth reservation system are only available as Calendar reservations system. area. These limits apply to all trips into day of every month at 10:00 am MT, Walk-in Permits. Plan ahead and obtain a the park’s wilderness including trips that reservations for trips a month out reservation to avoid any disappointment. become available. If they are still LAST MINUTE DRAWING do not require a permit. Wilderness trails RESERVATIONS have a group size limit of 12, but many available, reservations can be made until ZION EXPRESS canyoneering areas are limited to 6. 5:00 pm MT on the day before your trip. Visitors can apply for the Last Minute MEMBERSHIP There is a $5.00 non-refundable fee for Drawing for canyoneering day trips. This Group size limits are strictly enforced. Zion Express Membership allows an online calendar reservation. There is drawing eliminates the need to wait in Permits will be denied and violators will members who obtain a reservation in be cited if limits are exceeded. their account to convert it to a permit Note: The Advance Lottery is only for trips through Left Fork Reservation Dates (The Subway) and Mystery Canyon online, three days before their trip. The Groups are limited to a maximum of entire permit process can be completed 6 or 12 people that share the same For a trip in Advance Lottery Calendar Reservations online. Zion Express Membership is applications received in become available affiliation (e.g., school, club, scout troop, recommended for frequent visitors. April January February 5 family, and friends). Groups that exceed May February March 5 The benefits of membership include: these limits may not split up and visit the June March April 5 • No cost to enroll. same drainage, route, or wilderness trail July April May 5 • No waiting in line to pick up permit. on the same day, but may split up and August May June 5 • No need to coordinate with Wilderness visit different areas. September June July 5 Desk hours of operation.