Seasonal lotteries for permits to hike Angels Landing have been announced/NPS file
Hikers who want to visit Angels Landing in Zion National Park next year can apply to four seasonal lotteries, with the first opening January 1.
“We’ve issued hundreds of thousands of permits to hike to Angels Landing since the program began in 2022,” said Jeff Bradybaugh, the park's superintendent. “Visitors and rangers report that the program has been successful at reducing crowding and congestion, and we are building on this success as we prepare for 2024.”
Fast facts about the Angels Landing Pilot Permit Program
Zion has issued nearly 400,000 permits to hikers since the program began in 2022.
The Angels Landing Pilot Permit Program has continued to accommodate more than 80 percent of the previous use NPS recorded in studies conducted in 2019 and 2021.
Zion rangers observed that the Angels Landing Pilot Permit Program spread hikers’ start times throughout the day.
Rangers observed, and hikers reported, less crowding and congestion on the trail than in past years.
Hikers can also apply the day before hikes to get a permit to visit Angels Landing. Learn more about Seasonal- and Day-before Lotteries at go.nps.gov/AngelsLanding
About the Angels Landing Pilot Permit Program
This is a pilot program, and the National Park Service is assessing and adjusting it. The pilot permit program reflects comments from the public, park neighbors and other stakeholders. It also reflects lessons learned during trail studies in 2019 and 2021.
Angels Landing is one of many places visitors enjoy hiking in Zion National Park. Zion hosted a record 5 million visits in 2021, and this program is an important element of the National Park Service’s ongoing work to ensure park landscapes, plants, animals, and human history are conserved so that visitors can continue to enjoy this iconic destination.
Comments
How does the NPS/rec.gov justify keeping the reservation fee for unsuccessful applicants? Isn't there a perverse incentive to hype this lottery, knowing that more applicants for the same number of permits will mean more revenue from more unsuccessful applicants?
This is a sick and cynical marketing plan by NPS/Zion. SHAME on them.
Let's look at some rough numbers:
80% successful permits (400,000) issued means that 500,000 folks applied. So, about 100,000 folks were unsucessful, each spending $6--that's $600,000 of revenue for Zion (and yes, rec.gov) that they collected for doing NOTHING, having no impact on the park, with no additional duty on the park.
400,000 permits at $6 each means $2,400,000 additional revenue for Zion/recgov to issue permits for a hike!
The monetizatiion of our parks continues unabated. This lottery, along with the backcountry permit lottery in Glacier, is the sad beginning of the multi-million dollar marketing of our parks.
Not in my name.