Angels Landing is the narrow ridge with the chain. Everyone who goes past Scout Lookout onto that section needs a permit, including people who “just want to see the chains.” Hikers who stop at Scout Lookout do not need that permit. The park describes the walk from the Grotto, shuttle stop 6, to Scout Lookout as about 2.25 miles one way and about 1,000 feet of climbing, and it calls that climb strenuous. The full trip to Angels Landing is listed as about 5.4 miles round trip with about 1,488 feet of gain. Most people take around four hours. Some take longer. That is a half-day before you add the shuttle ride.

There are two ways to get the permit, both on Recreation.gov. The day-before lottery opens at 12:01 a.m. Mountain Time the day before you want to hike and closes at 3 p.m. Permits are issued at 4 p.m. that same day. If you want to hike on Tuesday, you apply on Monday in that window. The seasonal lottery lets you apply earlier for a block of months. For 2026 hikes, the park’s permit page listed these windows: March 1–May 31 applied February 13–25; June 1–August 31 applied April 1–20; September 1–November 30 applied July 1–20; December 1–February 28, 2027 applied October 1–20. Permits for those seasons were issued shortly after each window closed. The park still calls this a pilot program. Recheck the Angels Landing permit page before you plan a year around a date we copied.

The application fee on that page is $6, non-refundable, and it covers an application for up to six people including the person who applies. If you win, there is an additional $3 per person. You cannot transfer the permit, change the date, or add people later. A seasonal win can be canceled until two days before the hike for a refund of the $3 per person. The $6 is not refunded. Canceled seasonal permits roll into the day-before lottery. Day-before permits cannot be changed, and those fees are not refunded. The confirmation email is the permit. Cell service at the checkpoint is unreliable, so download or print it before you reach the canyon. A ranger can ask for it and for identification. The time on the permit is when you need to be at the Grotto, not when you leave the hotel. Leave time for the shuttle.

A permit is not a weather pass. NPS says not to go up if storms are around, the rock is wet or icy, you will be out after dark, or someone is afraid of heights. Most serious accidents on this trail have been on the chain section, and wet rock is when many of them happen. There is no drinking water on the trail after the Grotto. The park’s suggestion for Zion in general is at least one gallon per person per day. Fill at the Grotto before you start. There are no trash cans on the trail. Pack waste out. You can hike many other canyon trails with only an entrance pass. The shuttle itself does not need a reservation. This permit is specifically the chain section.

We do not enter the lottery for you, and a guided trip sold somewhere else does not replace the permit. If a commercial guide is leading the hike, that guide still has to follow the park’s commercial rules. Our tours page, when a partner link exists, will be a booking link, not a permit. Apply at Recreation.gov from the NPS page above. More trail context is on hiking.

A hiker holding the support chain on the narrow sandstone ridge of the Angels Landing route, with Zion Canyon far below.
On the chains section of Angels Landing, Zion National Park. Photo: NPS Photo / Caitlin Ceci, public domain (U.S. National Park Service work), via Wikimedia Commons.

Practical takeaway

Apply on Recreation.gov, download the confirmation before you lose cell service, and be at the Grotto by the time printed on the permit. If you do not get one, hike to Scout Lookout and stop there.

Related on this site: Hiking and park tips, day-pack loadout, and a sample trip plan. More guides: guides index.

Quick FAQ

Do I need a permit for Scout Lookout?

No. NPS says hikers going to Scout Lookout do not need a permit; Angels Landing does.

Can I get a same-day Angels Landing permit?

The NPS shuttle narration says the park does not issue permits for hikes on the same day.

Can this site or a tour sell me a permit?

No. We do not sell permits. Apply through the NPS Angels Landing permit page.