Zion National Park Canyoneering Daily Lottery
This page provides last-minute lottery opportunities for canyoneering reservations in Zion, including the top-down Narrows day hike, as well as Mystery and Left Fork (Subway) canyons. These are technical canyoneering routes, requiring your own ropes, harnesses, additional gear, and the skills to use them safely.
Winter canyoneering requires extra preparation and gear for cold temperatures, ice, and sometimes extreme conditions. Winter conditions can persist throughout spring. 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.
The Left Fork of North Creek (Subway) hike can be done top-down, or bottom-up. Top-down is a technical canyoneering route, requiring ropes, harnesses, and usually wetsuits or drysuits. The bottom-up is a strenuous off-trail hiking route that requires most groups 6-10 hours to complete and includes wading through a river and scrambling over boulders and downed trees. Both variations of the hike require the same permit, for which reservations can be obtained on this page.
The full 16-mile top-down Narrows in-a-day permits are also on this page. Even in favorable conditions, this is a very long, strenuous, non-technical hike that is often underestimated, resulting in costly and dangerous search and rescue operations. In winter and spring, this hike is often inaccessible due to road conditions and impractical due to hiking conditions. Make sure to do plenty of research before making a reservation for this hike. The bottom-up Narrows hike does not require a permit.
Wilderness overnight permits, Narrows overnight permits, climbing bivouac permits, and Angels Landing permits can be found on different pages within the Zion Recreation.gov gateway menu.
Notifications and Alerts
The flow rate of the Virgin River is above 150 cubic feet per second. All Narrows trips and canyons that enter the Virgin River are closed at this time and permits will not be issued.
Permit & Season Information
A permit is required for all technical canyoneering trips in Zion National Park. Canyoneering is defined as any hike within any canyon which normally involves the use of rope, webbing, or other device for descent or ascent. Additionally, the non-technical top-down Narrows day hikes also require a permit.
- To minimize the impact on park resources, Wilderness permits are limited.
- Canyoneering reservations and permits are for single-day trips. Two-day trips are allowed in a few of the very long canyons in Zion. Permits are required for both days of the trip in this case.
- About half of all canyoneering permits may be reserved in advance, online, on the Canyoneering Advanced Reservations page.
- The remaining spots are filled using the Canyoneering Daily Lottery page.
- The Daily Lottery does not run for canyons not listed in the menu. Permits for those canyons must be obtained in person, at the Visitor Center.
Need to Know
When planning your trip, please keep in mind:
- This page is to apply for the lottery for a canyoneering permit in Zion National Park. It does not guarantee that the resource will be open or accessible. Trails, canyons, campsites, and even the entire park may be closed due to fires, floods, rock falls, or other reasons.
- A Wilderness permit is required year-round for any technical canyon in the Zion Wilderness.
- Cold, icy conditions usually occur all winter long in Zion. Drysuits are usually needed to avoid hypothermia in the Narrows and other slot canyons. The road to the starting trailhead for the Narrows is usually covered in a few feet of snow during the winter, making the hike inaccessible by vehicle.
- Changes to your lottery application preferences may be made while the lottery is open through your Recreation.gov “My Reservations”.
- Permit fees are non-refundable.
- Overnight trips are allowed in some of the longer technical canyons. A permit is required for both days of the trip.
- Your Reservation Confirmation email is not a Wilderness permit and cannot be used for Wilderness travel. Bring your Reservation Confirmation email and proof of identity to pick up your Wilderness permit at a Zion Wilderness Permit Station.
- You must pick up your permit in person during open hours at any Zion Wilderness Permit Station the day before, or day of permit entry date.
Fee Policy
Lottery Application Fee: $6 lottery application 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. This fee supports 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 UT 84767
Phone Number
435-772-0170
