Zion trail closures
- Rangers ordered visitors off Angels Landing and West Rim trails after a hiker died from a fall on Friday. ( ) - A search-and-rescue operation was launched Friday and later confirmed the hiker's death following the fall. (ksl.com) - Rangers are enforcing temporary closures while investigators and search-and-rescue teams work the scene. ( )
Zion National Park rangers cleared Angels Landing and part of the West Rim Trail after a hiker died in a fall Friday afternoon. (nps.gov; ksl.com) The National Park Service said the fall was reported at about 2 p.m. on Friday, April 17, and search-and-rescue crews responded to the trail. KSL later reported the park confirmed the hiker had died. (ksl.com; fox13now.com) Closures covered the recovery area on the West Rim Trail, including Scout Lookout and Angels Landing, while investigators and rescue teams worked the scene. Media reports said visitors were ordered off both trails as rangers secured the area. (fox13now.com; thetravel.com) Angels Landing is one of Zion’s most heavily managed hikes because the final section runs along a narrow sandstone spine with steep drop-offs and chain handholds. The National Park Service says parts of the route beyond Scout Lookout are less than three feet wide. (nps.gov) The park has required permits for Angels Landing since April 2022 after years of crowding and safety concerns on the route. Rangers can check permits anywhere along the hike, starting from the Grotto trailhead. (nps.gov; nps.gov) As of Saturday’s park alerts, Zion also posted a separate planned closure for Angels Landing from April 20 through April 23 for trail maintenance, with no permits issued for those dates. The park’s conditions page said the West Rim Trail remained open outside that closure notice. (nps.gov; nps.gov) Zion tells hikers to check current conditions before starting out and to carry a backup plan if a trail closes. For now, access near Angels Landing depends on when investigators finish and when rangers reopen the route. (nps.gov; nps.gov)
