Daily Lottery: 2 days in advance
*The Daily Lottery is ONLY for the one-day through hiking trip, not for backpacking trips.
An online Daily Lottery is an option when the Advanced Reservations for the Narrows day top-down in a day trips are fully booked. Individuals can apply for the Daily Lottery to obtain any remaining reservations for one-day permits. The Daily Lottery is limited to one request per individual, with options to select up to four canyons. Applications can be submitted two days prior to a trip date, beginning at 12:00am MT. The online drawing is held at 3:00 pm MT, two days before the trip date. Applicants will then be sent a notification email with information about the status of their request at 4:00 pm MT. Any spaces not taken through the Daily Lottery will be available as Walk-in Permits the day before a trip date.
Apply for the Daily Lottery for: 16-Mile Virgin River Narrows Through-Hiking Day Trip
Walk-In Permits for Backpacking Trips: 1 day in advance
- Half of the backpacking campsites in the Zion Wilderness are available on a first come, first serve, walk-in basis.
- Download the Zion Wilderness Map or full Zion Wilderness Guide to view which campsites are available by online calendar reservation and which campsites are available on a first come, first serve, walk-in basis.
- Permits must be obtained in person at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center Wilderness Desk during normal Hours of Operation. Permits can be obtained the day before, or early morning the day of the trip.
Obtain Your Wilderness Permit
- Plan your trip itinerary to allow sufficient time to obtain your permit the day of, or the day before your trip during our Hours of Operation.
- Allow for at least 20 minutes to obtain a permit. Come prepared with all vehicle(s) information: make, model, and license plate(s).
- All Wilderness permits must be obtained in-person at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center Wilderness Desk.
- The individual listed as the reservation holder must be the one to obtain the permit, please plan accordingly.
Wilderness Permit Fee:
Day Use / Canyoneering Permit Fees
Lottery Application Fee or Advanced Reservation Fee: $6 lottery application / reservation fee (non-refundable)
Per Person Fee: $10 per person (refundable)
The reservation fee (in lieu of the lottery application fee) and per person fee are also charged for first-come, first-served permits that are issued in person.
Overnight Permit Fees
Permit Fee: $20 per permit (non-refundable)
Per Person Fee: $7 per person per night (refundable)
The same fees are charged for reservations as well as first-come, first-served permits that are issued in person.
Wilderness Permits are Non-Transferable
Traveling in the Zion Wilderness requires careful planning and preparation. Permit holders assume the responsibility of ensuring that their group is aware of the risks involved, is self-reliant, has developed a back-up plan, and will follow park regulations. Because these are such important aspects of trip planning and resource protection, permits for trips into the Zion Wilderness are non-transferable.
If you cannot participate in your trip, please cancel your reservation to provide opportunities for others. If other members of your group still wish to participate in a planned trip, you may coordinate with a new prospective permit holder for them to immediately reserve the available spaces or sites, as soon as your reservation has been cancelled.
You may cancel your reservation online by logging in to your recreation.gov account. As soon as your reservation is cancelled, those spaces or sites will immediately be available for someone else to obtain through the reservations page.
Plan your trip itinerary to allow sufficient time to obtain your permit the day of, or day before the trip during Zion Wilderness Desk Hours of Operation. The individual listed on reservation must be the one to obtain the permit, please plan accordingly.