history and overview of the hike
Angels Landing first began construction in 1926, ten years after Fredrick Fisher explored Zion with some friends and came upon angles landing. He made a famous statement, later naming the hike what it is known as today: "only an angel could land on it!" Ten years after, Thomas Chalmers Vint and Walter Ruesch, both park service employees, began the Angels Landing project, which is now known as one of the most deadly hikes in the United States. It also requires a permit, so it is not accessible to the public.
This hike was an extension of the West Rim Trail already existing in Zion, and adds on as a 5 mile roundtrip hike. It begins as a very flat hike but quickly turns into a steep hike, bending around the mountain until you get to Refrigerator Canyon. Once you pass through this flatter and colder area, you hit Walters wiggles. Walters Wiggles consists of 21 switchbacks, leaving for a quick elevation change and beautiful views. After this, you will reach a point where the trail breaks into two, scouts lookout. You will then follow the arrow that says Angels Landing, show your permit and begin!
How to get to angels landing!
Lets begin! Enter Zion National Park by mapping into the visitors center and parking there. Make sure you have a park pass, these can easily be bought at the window or pre-purchased online or at an outdoors store like REI.
Address: Zion National Park, 1 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale, UT 84767
Then you will head to the bus station and wait in line for a bus to come. Make sure you use the restroom before you get in line so you are ready for Angels Landing.
Lines can be long, especially depending on when in the day and year you're going as well as weather. When we went it was the end of winter (the least popular season) and it was predicted to rain later on in the day, so lines weren't that long for us.
Once it is your turn, you will hop on a bus and begin your adventure. Make sure you have all you need packed and with you! (packing list is included later on.)
Get excited! Look at the map for where you are going, in this case, you will need to wait until stop six to get off. Listen carefully! They sometimes skip stops if hikes are closed depending on the season.
For Angels Landing, you will get off the bus at stop six. It leads directly to the bottom of the section of the west rim trail you begin your hike on.
You cross the road from the bus station then see a bridge and cross the bridge. At the end of the bridge if you need help with where to go, there is a sign pointing you towards the hike. These are located all around the park showing you where to go.
Here it it! The hike of all hikes. Get ready!
Refrigerator canyon may be one of the coolest look out spots on the hike. It's breezy, elevated, and well paved. Take advantage of this and go slow, stopping every once in a while. It's worth it to take slow.
Brace yourself, Walters Wiggles is approaching.
Here is Walters wiggles! This part consists of 21 quickly elevated switchbacks, and I recommend to take this slowly and stop when needed. Save your breath for angels landing!
Once you reach the top, you get to Scouts Lookout. This is the furthest you can go without a permit. We took a snack break and rested before we began the chain section of the hike.
Here's a view from the top of Scouts Lookout.
Now once you showed your permit to the park ranger, you being the chain section. Only .5 miles left to go till the top!
Here is a view from the start of the hike, you can see others beginning. https://youtube.com/shorts/UlipDTAMDHI?si=_91pj0R78VBH4VGz
Climbing up can be very scary especially with people in both directions, but take it slow, stay on the path and hold onto the chains. If you need to stop, you can! Take in the view.
Soak in the top! Truly one of the prettiest views Ive ever seen. Eat a PB&J, read a book, take pictures, sit in silence.
The top is smaller, so be careful, but explore. Go find new views in every inch of the rock!
Here is a video of a few people exploring at the top! https://youtube.com/shorts/RavlR8-wNKE?feature=share
When looking down, I realized just how small I was. What a great lesson to learn, the world is so much bigger than me and there's so much more to it than just me. Now time to go back down!
interactive map of hike
Follow this link to travel along the trail: https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/44ca6b59bbffb03819cb49bdeba9a8b0/angels-landing/index.html
angels landing permit
Once you decide you want to hike Angels Landing, you need to apply for a permit only issued by the National Parks Service. You can apply for a permit in two ways: seasonal and the day before. You can apply for up to 6 permits, including the one applying. It costs $6 (non-refundable) to apply, and if you get a permit, it is $3 per permit to hike. Due to cell service issues in the National Park, it is recommended that your permit be screenshotted or printed before entering the park.
Seasonal Permits: there are five windows of time where you can apply for per year. December 1, 2024, to February 28, 2025; March 1 to May 31; June 1 to August 31; September 1 to November 30; December 1, 2025, to February 28, 2026. Once you figure out when you will be going and which period that would fall under, you can apply for up to 7 days and times you would want. There are specific days to apply for these and specific dates the results will be released; these can be found on: https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/angels-landing-hiking-permits.htm
Day-Before Permit: (this is how I was able to get a permit). To apply for one of these, you will apply at 12: 01 a.m. to 3 p.m. MT (mountain time) the day before your hike on Zion National Park's website. You would hear back that day by 4 p.m. if you have received a permit.
packing list
One of the most important but easily able to forget is what to pack! This is a 3-5 hour hike and is very physically demanding, so breaks are necessary and snacks are encouraged.
- Here's what I packed:
- Backpack (I used a Patagonia one with straps at the chest and hips for stability)
- Water bottle. This is essential to stay hydrated especially with the rapid altitude increase.
- Camera, the view is so pretty and worth capturing.
- Snacks, PB&J at the top was so rewarding.
- Any form of electrolytes. I like LMNT or NUUN.
- Snow spikes/ chains for your shoes. This is for if you go when there could be ice or snow to help with traction.
- Layers! The higher the elevation the colder you will get, we started with tank tops and pants and ended the hike with long sleeve shirts and a fleece on top.
- Journal/ book. My friends and I took time to be alone and take the view in by reading and journaling, which I highly recommend.