Rick Bowmer / AP
This Sept. 15, 2015, file photo, shows Zion National Park near Springdale, Utah.
Friday, Aug. 13, 2021 | 8:21 a.m.
SALT LAKE CITY — Zion National Park may soon require reservations to hike one of its most famous trails.
The Angel's Landing hike is a narrow trail perched on the edge of a red-rock cliff in southern Utah. The number of people visiting Zion has been growing at a breakneck pace in recent years, and Angel's Landing is one of the most sought-after designations. More than 300,000 people made the trek in 2019, according to park officials.
The crowding is worrisome on the trail where people regularly fall and die from the trail edged by a sheer cliff, park officials said.
The system would start in 2022 and require people to pay $6 to enter an online lottery to get a permit and a $3 per person usage fee if they are chosen.
It would apply specifically to the narrowest section of the trail, called the chain section after the metal handholds driven into the rock.
Park officials are taking online public comment on the proposal through Sept. 12.
