What's on in Zion National Park (Zion), United States through the year

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Rule

  Angels Landing permit lottery

  1 Jan – 31 DecBook early

  The chains section needs a permit, all year, won in a seasonal lottery months ahead or a day-before lottery at long odds. Turning up without one is not an option here. Source ↗

• Rule

  Permits for the Subway and Narrows

  1 Jan – 31 DecBook earlyClosures

  The Left Fork, the top-down Narrows and every canyoneering route need a wilderness permit, drawn in a monthly lottery three months out with a last-minute round two days before. Angels Landing is a separate draw. Source ↗

• Nature

  California condors over the canyon

  1 Jan – 31 DecBirdlife season

  The reintroduced birds nest in the cliffs and ride the thermals over Angels Landing and the Kolob Terrace area most days, tagged with numbered wing markers. Rangers set scopes on them at the lodge in the afternoons. Source ↗

Still on: Winter: drive the canyon yourself (29 Nov – 6 Mar (usually)), Ice on the high trails (1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Angels Landing permit lottery (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Permits for the Subway and Narrows (1 Jan – 31 Dec), California condors over the canyon (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Winter: drive the canyon yourself (29 Nov – 6 Mar (usually)), Ice on the high trails (1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — Spring break crowds, Spring break in United States

• Holiday

  Spring break crowds

  1 Mar – 20 Apr · usuallySchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  March and April are the park's busiest weeks alongside high summer, with the shuttle queue at the visitor centre running an hour before nine. Springdale beds price accordingly. Source ↗

• Rule

  Canyon shuttle season

  7 Mar – 28 Nov · usuallyClosures

  From early March to the end of November the scenic drive is closed to private cars and the free shuttle is the only way up the canyon. It runs again for the week between Christmas and New Year. Source ↗

Still on: Angels Landing permit lottery (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Permits for the Subway and Narrows (1 Jan – 31 Dec), California condors over the canyon (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Winter: drive the canyon yourself (29 Nov – 6 Mar (usually))

Busy — Spring break crowds

• Closure

  Narrows closed to snowmelt

  1 Apr – 10 Jun · usually

  The Virgin River runs too high to wade for most of the spring melt, and the park shuts the bottom-up Narrows above 150 cubic feet a second. It usually reopens in June. Source ↗

Still on: Angels Landing permit lottery (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Permits for the Subway and Narrows (1 Jan – 31 Dec), California condors over the canyon (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Spring break crowds (1 Mar – 20 Apr (usually)), Canyon shuttle season (7 Mar – 28 Nov (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Angels Landing permit lottery (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Permits for the Subway and Narrows (1 Jan – 31 Dec), California condors over the canyon (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Canyon shuttle season (7 Mar – 28 Nov (usually)), Narrows closed to snowmelt (1 Apr – 10 Jun (usually))

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Canyon heat

  1 Jun – 10 Sep · usuallyExtreme heat

  The canyon floor sits above forty degrees on midsummer afternoons and the rock radiates it back. Angels Landing and the East Rim are morning walks or they are not walks at all. Source ↗

Still on: Angels Landing permit lottery (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Permits for the Subway and Narrows (1 Jan – 31 Dec), California condors over the canyon (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Canyon shuttle season (7 Mar – 28 Nov (usually)), Narrows closed to snowmelt (1 Apr – 10 Jun (usually))

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Monsoon flash floods

  1 Jul – 20 Sep · usuallyFlood seasonClosures

  Late-summer storms over the plateau put water into slot canyons under blue sky downstream. The Narrows and the Subway close on a flash flood warning, sometimes for days. Source ↗

Still on: Angels Landing permit lottery (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Permits for the Subway and Narrows (1 Jan – 31 Dec), California condors over the canyon (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Canyon shuttle season (7 Mar – 28 Nov (usually)), Canyon heat (1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Angels Landing permit lottery (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Permits for the Subway and Narrows (1 Jan – 31 Dec), California condors over the canyon (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Canyon shuttle season (7 Mar – 28 Nov (usually)), Canyon heat (1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)), Monsoon flash floods (1 Jul – 20 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer break in United States

• Nature

  Dark-sky nights

  1 Sep – 31 Oct · usuallyDark-sky season

  The park is certified for its night skies and the autumn air after the monsoon is the clearest of the year. Go on the nights either side of a new moon, and the canyon walls take half the sky with them.

Still on: Angels Landing permit lottery (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Permits for the Subway and Narrows (1 Jan – 31 Dec), California condors over the canyon (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Canyon shuttle season (7 Mar – 28 Nov (usually)), Canyon heat (1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)), Monsoon flash floods (1 Jul – 20 Sep (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

• Nature

  Cottonwoods turning

  20 Oct – 20 Nov · usuallyAutumn colour

  The cottonwoods along the Virgin go yellow against red rock through late October and November, several weeks after the maples on the plateau above. It is the best light of the year here.

Still on: Angels Landing permit lottery (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Permits for the Subway and Narrows (1 Jan – 31 Dec), California condors over the canyon (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Canyon shuttle season (7 Mar – 28 Nov (usually)), Dark-sky nights (1 Sep – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — Thanksgiving break in United States

• Opening

  Winter: drive the canyon yourself

  29 Nov – 6 Mar · usuallyOff-season shutdown

  With the shuttle parked you can take your own car up the scenic drive, which is the only time of year that is possible. Ice on the shaded trails is the trade. Source ↗

Still on: Angels Landing permit lottery (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Permits for the Subway and Narrows (1 Jan – 31 Dec), California condors over the canyon (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Canyon shuttle season (7 Mar – 28 Nov (usually)), Cottonwoods turning (20 Oct – 20 Nov (usually))

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Ice on the high trails

  1 Dec – 28 Feb · usuallyExtreme coldClosures

  The shaded switchbacks up to Angels Landing and the East Rim glaze over for weeks and the park closes sections outright after a storm. Traction devices are the difference between a walk and a rescue. Source ↗

Still on: Angels Landing permit lottery (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Permits for the Subway and Narrows (1 Jan – 31 Dec), California condors over the canyon (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Winter: drive the canyon yourself (29 Nov – 6 Mar (usually))