Angels Landing Hike Trail Guide Zion National Park

December 27, 2020 The Virtual Sherpa Comments 2 comments

Angels Landing hike is one of the most popular trails in Zion National Park and is known around the world for its unique hiking and high exposure. The hike begins on a paved concrete sidewalk as it works its way up to the base of the true climbing portion. Once the climbing starts, hikers work up steep, exposed, narrow cliffs with the aid of a chained handrail in sections. Hiking is typically class 2 but can be class 3 in sections (always with the assistance of the chain). Once on top of Angels Landing, hikers are greeted with amazing views of the entire Zion Canyon. Angels Landing is only recommended for hikers who are comfortable with medium amounts of exposure at high heights.

Angels Landing Hike Quick Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Angels Landing

Angels Landing Hike Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)

Distance: 5.5 Miles RT – View Park Map Here

Elevation Start: 4,291ft

Highest Point: 5,789ft

Total Elevation Gain: 1,600ft

Estimated Time to Complete: 3-5 Hours RT

Difficulty: Moderate – Difficulty System Explained

Class: Class 3 – What does this mean?

Season: Year Round – expect seasonal closures depending on weather

Weather: Check the Weather Forecast

Directions to Angels Landing Hike

Trailhead: Zion Canyon Visitor Center

Getting Here: Angels Landing hike is accessed by the southern entrance of Zion National Park. Zion Canyon requires a shuttle to get around the park or hikers can bike to the TH. Once in the park, get off or bike to “The Grotto” stop to start the hike up to Angels Landing.

Fees: View this page for the most up to date information on Zion National Park fees.

Reservations: As of 4/1/22 – Zion National Park is using a lottery and permit system in order to hike Angels Landing. Read more about that entire process here.

Parking: Entering through the Zion Canyon Entrance point, you will need to park at the visitor center and take a shuttle into the park. There is a fee to park here ($25 as of 2020). If you don’t want to shell out for this, you can bike into the park or take a free Springdale town shuttle to the visitor’s center.

Summary

Camping: Camping in Zion National Park comes in two forms: campgrounds and backcountry camping. Read more about both of them here.

Dogs: Zion National Park is not dog friendly for the most part. However, the one trail dogs are allowed on is the Pa’rus trail which is a pretty neat walk if you have the time.

Make it a Loop: Angels Landing is an out and back hike but you can extend the hike further via the West Rim Trail.

Hike X Factors: Crowds & Precipitation

There is no way to get around it, Zion National Park is crowded. It’s beautiful, has world famous hiking and is super accessible by major airports. If you visit Angels Landing during the summer, expect this popular hike to be LOADED with people. This can be quite annoying on the top portion of the hike where many sections do not have room for hikers in both directions to pass creating large bottlenecks. Fall and Winter are quieter in the park, but still attract thousands of visitors per day. There are ways around these crowds, but you have to be willing to get up VERY early or do some hiking in the dark.

When hiking Angels Landing, be sure to be aware of the weather. A thunderstorm on this hike or rain in general would not be fun at all. There would be nowhere to hide from an incoming storm and the tacky sandstone hiking would be much harder to grip your shoes on. In the winter, microspikes or yaktrax may be needed to aid with traction on your hike.

Hike Tip(s): If you plan on hiking Angels Landing, my advice would be to hike it first thing in the morning on the day of your visit. It’s extremely popular and the sections towards the top of the hike are extremely narrow and prone to bottlenecks once the crowds pick up. In addition, be sure to be comfortable with medium exposure and high heights and always check the weather before setting out to tackle this hike.

Best Views: Nearly everywhere on this hike is beautiful. The start of the hike has great views of Zion Canyon and the Virgin River along with the daunting tower where the summit of the hike rests. The spanning views from the top of Angels Landing are really spectacular in every direction, just watch your footing near the edge! Visiting in the fall or winter gives an extra layer of color with white snow blanketing the ground or yellow foliage throughout the park.

Angels Landing Hike Route

Ignore the distance, the GPS was bouncing off canyon walls.

Gear Needed

Hiking Boots or Trail Runners – good grip on your footwear will be your friend on this hike
Backpack
Protection from Sun
Food & Water
Optional: Map of Park or GPS – I use the Garmin inReach
Optional: Hiking Poles
Optional: Headlamp
Optional: Microspikes or Yaktrax – only necessary in winter
Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
Optional: Camera
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My Trip to Angels Landing: November 2020

The Angels Landing hike was part of a longer day in Zion National Park for me. I started my morning at 5:30AM biking into the park and hiking The Narrows. After an awesome time in the canyon, I decided to see the park from up high. I biked over to the Grotto TH and started my hike around 3PM. I was able to have fewer crowds ascending the trail which was nice but the bottlenecks from all of the hikers coming down was less than ideal. In any case, I loved the views and fun scrambling on this hike and would easily do it again.