Zion Mystery Canyon Seasonal Lottery
This page is for the Mystery Canyon Seasonal Lottery (to apply for permits approximately 2 to 3 months in advance) and for unclaimed or cancelled reservations that become available after each lottery. For dates two dates out, use the Zion National Park Canyoneering Daily Lottery page.
All trips into Mystery Canyon require a permit. Mystery Canyon is a technical canyoneering route, requiring your own ropes, harnesses, and often wetsuits or drysuits. Guiding is not allowed in the Zion Wilderness. Anyone applying for this lottery must have their own skills and equipment to safely complete their desired trip.
Maximum group size for Mystery Canyon is 6 people. Groups may not split into multiple trips to exceed the daily limit. Additional permit requests that would exceed the group limit will be denied or cancelled, and violators may be cited.
Find Overnight Wilderness Permits, Overnight Narrows Permits, other tehcnical Canyoneering Advanced Reservations, Overnight (bivouac) Climbing Permits, and Angels Landing hiking permits on separate pages starting from Recreation.gov's Zion gateway page.
Permit & Season Information
Use this page to enter the seasonal lottery for a chance at permits for this hike (approximately 2 to 3 months out) or to reserve an unclaimed or canceled permit. If your group is successful in the seasonal lottery you must claim your reservation through your Recreation.gov user profile no later than 2 weeks after the results are emailed. Then, pick up the permit in person at the permits desk in the Zion Visitor Center, either the day before or the day of your hike.
If your group is not successful in the lottery, you may check the calendar on this page for any unclaimed or cancelled reservations during the proper window. See the important dates table below. Your may also enter the Zion National Park Canyoneering Daily Lottery for Mystery Canyon two days before your desired hike date. The Daily Lottery is your next best chance at obtaining a permit.
Winter Season Conditions
Winter can bring extreme conditions to Mystery Canyon, such as snow, ice, and freezing temperatures.
Need to Know
When planning your trip, please keep in mind:
This page allows you to apply for a Zion National Park Mystery Canyon permit through the seasonal lottery (for dates approximately 2 to 3 months out) or to reserve unclaimed or canceled permits. It does not guarantee that the Mystery Canyon route will be open or accessible on the date of your permit. Trails, canyons, campsites, and even the entire park can be closed due to fires, floods, rock falls, or other reasons.
Mystery Canyon closes whenever the park closes the Virgin River Narrows (whenever the flow of the river is above 150 CFS/4 CMS).
A Wilderness permit is required year-round for any travel in Mystery Canyon.
Permit fees are non-refundable.
Overnight trips are not allowed in Mystery Canyon.
Your reservation confirmation email is not a Wilderness permit and cannot be used for Wilderness travel. Claim your reservation through your Recreation.gov user profile by the "Claim By" date (approximately 2 weeks after you recieve the confirmation email). Bring your reservation confirmation email and proof of identity to pick up your Wilderness permit at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center permit station.
You must pick up your permit in person during operating hours at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center Wilderness Desk the day before, or day of permit entry date.
Fee Policy
- Lottery Application/Permit Reservation Fee: $6 (non-refundable). This fee is charged to apply to the early-access lottery or to make a reservation during the general on-sale.
- Per Person Recreation Fee: $10 per person (refundable)
- Entrance Fee: Zion charges an entrance fee separate from permit fees. You may pay the fee upon arrival. The park honors valid America the Beautiful-the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes (also known as an interagency passes, e.g., Senior, 4th Grade, Military, etc.). Visit the park's Fees & Passes web page.
Note: The same fees apply when the park issues permits in person. These fees support the permit and reservation management system.
Cancellation Policy
Per person fees are refundable if the permit is cancelled or modified to a smaller group size before 5pm the day of the trip. The $6 lottery application fee is non-refundable in all circumstances.
Contact Information
Mailing Address
1 Zion Park Blvd Springdale Utah 84767
Phone Number
435-772-0170
