About this permit
The Angels Landing permit covers one thing: the half-mile chain section above Scout Lookout that leads to the 5,790-foot summit. Everything below Scout Lookout stays open to anyone: the switchbacks out of the canyon, Refrigerator Canyon, Walter's Wiggles, and the lookout itself. Zion added the permit in April 2022 after crowding on the chains created dangerous bottlenecks on a ridge with 1,000-foot drops on both sides.
There are two ways to win one, and they are independent of each other. The seasonal lottery runs quarterly, one window per season, and it is easy to miss if you are waiting for a monthly opening that never comes. In 2026 the windows opened at 8 a.m. MT on February 13 for spring hikes (March 1 to May 31), April 1 for summer (June 1 to August 31), July 1 for fall (September 1 to November 30), and October 1 for winter (December 1 to February 28, 2027). They close at 11:59 p.m. MT on February 25, April 20, July 20, and October 20, with results the day after. The day-before lottery runs daily from 12:01 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Mountain Time for next-day permits, results at 4 p.m., which means every day of a Zion trip is a fresh entry. Both live on Recreation.gov, both cost $6 to apply, one permit covers a group of up to 6, and winners pay a further $3 per person.
The odds are better than the reputation suggests. Reviewing the pilot program's first two years, NPS put the overall odds in both lotteries at about 50%. The date you pick decides the rest: the park reports a range from 8% in the day-before lottery on Memorial Day Weekend Sunday up to 100% on random mid-week days. Treat a mid-week date away from a holiday as your best play. There is no fixed daily quota either. NPS says daily allocations "range from a few hundred to 800 or more per day."
Winners cancel too. Because permits are date-specific and Zion trips get rescheduled, spots reopen on Recreation.gov between lotteries. NPS: "Canceled seasonal lottery permits will automatically roll into the day-before lottery." That is the third path in, and PermitSnag alerts you to it.
The route
The trail begins at The Grotto shuttle stop, crossing a bridge over the Virgin River before climbing into the canyon. The first section is a gentle warm-up through cottonwood groves.
Then comes Refrigerator Canyon, a narrow, shaded slot that provides cool relief and a preview of Zion's geology. At its end, you face Walter's Wiggles: 21 tight, steep switchbacks carved into the cliff by Zion's first superintendent in 1926.
Scout Lookout is the decision point. To the left, the permit-free West Rim Trail continues. Straight ahead, the chains section begins. The final half-mile follows a narrow ridge, chains bolted into sandstone providing the only handholds between you and oblivion. The exposure is intense, the views infinite.
Why it matters
Angels Landing was named by Frederick Fisher in 1916, who proclaimed that 'only an angel could land' on the narrow summit. It has become Zion's signature hike and one of the most photographed destinations in the National Park system, a testament to the human desire to stand on the edge of the void.
