Best Hikes in Zion National Park: The Trails Worth the Permit Hassle

Zion in July is a crowd management exercise. The shuttle line at 9am is an hour wait. Angels Landing has 400 people on it by noon. The canyon floor smells like sunscreen and the parking lots fill before 7am.

Get to Zion on a Tuesday in October and you understand why 4.7 million people visit every year. The park is genuinely spectacular. The red Navajo sandstone walls rise 2,000 feet above the valley floor and the Virgin River cuts right through the middle. You just have to plan around the calendar, not the Instagram photos.

The Permit Reality

Two trails at Zion generate more confusion than any other park information.

Angels Landing: You need a permit to hike past Scout Lookout, which is the section with the chains. This changed in 2022. The permit lottery runs through recreation.gov. There’s a seasonal lottery with applications months in advance, and a day-before lottery that opens at midnight. Without a permit, you can hike the full trail to Scout Lookout. That’s 1.5 miles below the final chains section, and it’s still one of the better viewpoints in the park.

The Narrows, bottom-up: No permit. No fee beyond the park entrance. You walk from the Temple of Sinawava shuttle stop up the Virgin River as far as you want and turn back. This is a completely different situation from the top-down Narrows route, which requires a backcountry permit.

Check nps.gov/zion before your trip. Requirements change seasonally and the website is current.

Getting Around the Park

From May through October, private vehicles aren’t allowed on Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. You park at the visitor center and take the free shuttle. The shuttle runs frequently but the lines are long in peak season.

Park entrance is $35 per vehicle. Springdale (the town just outside the entrance) has lodging, gear rentals, and restaurants. Book 3-6 months ahead for summer. Shoulder season in October and April typically has 2-3 weeks of availability instead.

The Best Hikes in Zion

Canyon Overlook Trail

Distance: 1 mile round trip. Elevation gain: 163 ft. Difficulty: easy.

The best short hike in the park and the least crowded trail in the main canyon area. The trailhead sits on the east side of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, accessible by car year-round. The trail ends at a ledge above Pine Creek Canyon looking back toward the Zion Canyon entrance and the canyon walls.

Afternoon light from the west is the move here. The walls turn orange-gold in the last two hours before sunset.

Emerald Pools Trail

Distance: 3.2 miles, upper loop. Elevation gain: 400 ft. Difficulty: easy to moderate.

The lower pool has a waterfall that you walk behind. The middle pool is a ledge above the lower. The upper pool is where the green color actually lives, algae on the surface of standing water. The upper trail requires some rock stepping but it’s not technical.

This is the most accessible multi-destination hike in the park. Good for families and hikers who want options without commitment. If the upper trail is crowded, the lower pool alone is worth the walk.

Angels Landing

Distance: 5.4 miles round trip. Elevation gain: 1,488 ft. Difficulty: strenuous.

The hike everyone pictures. The final half-mile on the exposed chains section has a drop-off on both sides and a line of hikers moving up and down simultaneously. Permit required past Scout Lookout.

A few things don’t make it into the photos: the sandstone becomes glass-slick when wet. Fatalities have occurred on the chains section. The NPS tracks deaths at Angels Landing and the number isn’t zero. Check the weather before going.

If you don’t have a permit, hike to Scout Lookout. The views into the canyon from there are comparable to what you get at the summit. The chains section adds exposure, not necessarily better scenery.

Best season is May and October on weekdays. Skip it if rain is in the forecast.

Observation Point

Distance: 8 miles round trip. Elevation gain: 2,148 ft. Difficulty: strenuous.

This is Angels Landing’s better-kept secret. Observation Point sits at 6,508 feet and looks directly down onto Angels Landing from above. You see the full snake of people on the chains from a higher angle. No permit required.

The trail gets significant sun exposure on the upper switchbacks. Start before 7am in warmer months. Carry at least 3 liters of water.

Most people in the valley below don’t know Observation Point exists. The trailhead is at the Weeping Rock shuttle stop.

The Narrows, Bottom-Up

Distance: 4-10 miles round trip, your choice. Elevation gain: minimal. Difficulty: moderate.

You wade the Virgin River through slot canyon walls that rise over 1,000 feet. The canyon is narrow enough in sections that you’re bouncing between walls while moving upstream. No marked trail because the trail is the river.

Water temperature runs 50-60°F in spring. Knee-deep is average, thigh-deep in some spots. Waterproof footwear is not optional. Outfitters in Springdale rent canyon-specific boots and neoprene socks. Bring your own trekking poles or rent them.

Don’t enter during a flash flood watch. The Narrows is a slot canyon with vertical walls and no exit points. When water rises, it rises fast. Check weather.gov for the Virgin River watershed before you go.

Kolob Arch Trail

Distance: 14 miles round trip. Elevation gain: 1,050 ft. Difficulty: moderate to strenuous.

Kolob Arch spans 287 feet, making it one of the largest freestanding arches in the world. The trail is in the Kolob Canyons section of Zion, off a separate entrance from I-15. This is a completely different part of the park from Zion Canyon, with a fraction of the visitors.

The trail runs through a red-rock canyon with consistent shade from the walls. The arch sits in a side canyon at the end. This is a manageable day hike or a quick backpacking destination with a permit.

If you’re doing two days at Zion and want one crowd-free day, Kolob Canyons is the answer.

What to Wear in the Narrows

Most hikers underestimate the Narrows water temperature. The Virgin River runs cold, typically 50-60°F in spring and fall, even when the air temperature is warm above the canyon. An hour of wading in 55°F water without protection will leave your legs numb and slow you down.

Outfitters in Springdale (Zion Outfitter and Zion Adventure Company both on Main Street) rent neoprene socks, waterproof canyon boots, and trekking poles. The boots have felt soles that grip wet rock far better than trail runners. Rent the full setup for about $30-40. It’s worth every dollar.

If you’re going in October when water levels are lower, Chacos or similar sandals can work for the first mile. Past that, the crossings get deeper and the rocks get slicker. Bring a dry bag for your phone regardless of your footwear choice.

For the rest of the park’s trails, trail runners work better than boots on the paved shuttle paths and short canyon hikes. Save the heavy boots for Telescope Peak or Kolob Arch.

Canyoneering and Slot Canyons

Some of Zion’s most photogenic routes: Subway, Mystery Canyon, Keyhole Canyon. These routes require rappelling, specific technical gear, and backcountry permits. Don’t attempt these without a guide or documented prior experience. The park requires slot canyon permits and will ask about your experience level.

The Honest First-Timer Itinerary

Two days, shoulder season. October or early April.

Day 1: Start at Canyon Overlook in the morning for the first light on the canyon. Take the shuttle to the Grotto and hike the Emerald Pools loop. By early afternoon, catch the shuttle to Temple of Sinawava and walk the Narrows for 2-3 miles upstream before turning back. Rent the boots in Springdale the night before. It makes the difference.

Day 2: Get to the Weeping Rock shuttle stop by 6:30am and start Observation Point early. If you pulled a permit the night before, split the group: one person does Angels Landing, one does Observation Point. Compare photos at lunch.

This itinerary isn’t easy. It’s two full days on trail with significant mileage both days. But Zion rewards that effort in a way that day-tripping from Las Vegas does not.

Pack lunch both days. The shuttle stops don’t have food vendors and the lodge has limited hours. Carry at least 2.5 liters of water each day. The canyon trails in April and October are cool in the morning and warm by early afternoon, especially on south-facing walls.

One thing most visitors skip: check the Zion Visitor Center bulletin board for trail closures. Rockfall is real in this canyon and trails close without much online notice. Ten minutes at the visitor center before you board the first shuttle can save a wasted morning.