Campground and Wilderness Permit Changes coming to Zion National Park in 2024

Visitors will continue to make park campground reservations using Recreation.gov.

Wilderness Recreation Permits 

Effective January 5, 2024, Zion will migrate its Wilderness Recreation Permit system to Recreation.gov.

Besides giving users the ability to create itinerary-based trips and rank their top choices of desired destinations and recreation dates in lottery applications – which we could not offer with our former permit system – this change will benefit visitors by improving:

User Interface

• Provides an online and mobile app experience consistent with other parks, recreation areas, and other Federal Lands across the United States.
• Improves access to phone and online chat application assistance, which will be available seven days a week.

Communications With Permit Holders 

• Centralizes applications for all Zion recreation reservations & lotteries.
• Enables Zion to directly contact permit holders via email and text message.

System Resilience 

• Higher server reliability.
• Increases access to web support for park rangers who manage the system.
• Enhances compliance with federal requirements for system security, privacy protection and financial transactions.

Types of Permitted Wilderness Recreation Activities at Zion

In general, there are two kinds of activities that require Wilderness Recreation Permits. These are:

• Day Use
• Overnight Use

Day Use

Wilderness Permits are for day-long activities such as canyoneering trips to the Left Fork – Subway and for the 16-mile (top-down) day hike of the Virgin River Narrows.

Day-Use Applications And Reservations 

Day Use Permit Fees 

Note: Only applicants who get a permit through a lottery, by advance reservation, or by walking up will pay the $10 per person per day fee.

Overnight Use

Permits are for overnight activities such as camping in designated Wilderness campsites, bivouac (bivy) camping on climbs, and at-large camping in authorized areas.

Overnight use applications and reservations 

Overnight use permit fees 

Note: Only applicants who get a permit through advance reservation or by walking up will pay the additional $7 per person per night fee. 

We Count On Your Comments

Zion asked for your comments on these changes, and we took them into account as we are implementing changes. Learn more about the comment process and read our responses at the Planning, Environment & Public Comment for this project.

A Legacy of Success

The last time campground fees in Zion changed was in 2015, and we have not changed Wilderness Permit fees since 2016. In 2016, the park recorded about 3.6 million visits.

In 2021, Zion recorded more than 5 million visits – the most in its history. Rising visitation has increased demand for campsites and increased need for facility maintenance services such as cleaning restrooms, removing recyclables and trash, and servicing roads and campsites.

Rising visitation has also resulted in increased stress on the plants, animals, and historic sites in Zion Wilderness. Rangers who issue Wilderness permits provide guidance so that visitors complete their trips safely and use techniques to conserve these areas. That guidance is essential to ensuring the park’s least developed areas remain wild.

The proposed changes will improve access to our reservation and permitting system and ensure Zion is able to continue to steward public health and provide enjoyable experiences for visitors who stay in campgrounds and who recreate in the Wilderness.

Future Improvements 

Zion is in the process of developing a plan to improve South Campground and the entire South Entrance Area. We are using the public comments on design concepts from 2022 to finalize construction plans. We anticipate sharing more about these plans soon.

The Angels Landing Pilot Permit Program is not affected by these changes and will continue as it has since 2022.