Zion National Park camping and RV campgrounds.

All 3 Zion campgrounds, compared.

The short version: book Watchman if you want to sleep by Zion Canyon, and book it six months out for any date from spring through fall. Pick an electric site in Loops A or B if you need power, because generators aren't allowed there. Lava Point is the small, high tent option, and it only opens up 14 days ahead. South Campground is closed for rehabilitation, so don't plan around it until NPS lists it open again. Every figure below comes from the NPS camping pages and the NPS campground records, checked September 10, 2026. The RV column is the longest RV or trailer NPS lists for the campground. Watchman's sites vary, and each one's own limit is in its Recreation.gov details. Fees are per night.

How to book.

Every Zion campsite is booked on Recreation.gov, and there are no first-come, first-served sites. For Watchman, use its Recreation.gov page or call 877-444-6777. Standard sites open six months before your date, and group sites open 12 months before. Lava Point's Recreation.gov page opens only 14 days ahead, and NPS says to book before you set out, because cell service is limited in the park. From mid-March through late November NPS says the campgrounds are full almost every night, so be online the day your window opens.

South Campground is closed. NPS says it is closed for a long-term rehabilitation project, and the Current Conditions page lists it as closed for rehabilitation work. NPS gives no reopening date. When it runs, it has 124 sites that book 14 days ahead, usually from mid-March through October 31. Older guides that count it as a bookable option are out of date for now.

At Watchman, NPS says the D, E, and F loops may close at times for weather or maintenance. Check Recreation.gov for what's actually available on your dates.

Your campsite doesn't change how you see Zion Canyon. The Scenic Drive is reached only by the free shuttle for most of the year, and Watchman has a route to the visitor center shuttle stop; routes and hours are on our Zion shuttle page.

RVs: where your rig fits.

No campground in Zion has full hookups, and none has showers. Watchman is the RV campground. NPS lists a 40-foot maximum for RVs and trailers there, but sites vary, so check the limit for your site on Recreation.gov. Electric sites are in Loops A and B, and there's a dump station. Sites with shade trees only fit vehicles up to 12 feet 6 inches tall. Generators aren't allowed at Watchman at any time, so book an electric site if you need power. Lava Point takes no RVs, campers, or trailers, and vehicles over 19 feet can't drive the Kolob Terrace Road to reach it.

If you aren't camping, one use of the water fill and dump station at Watchman costs $5, paid to campground staff at the kiosk when they're there. Campers with a reservation don't pay it separately. Showers, laundry, and other services are in Springdale, half a mile away.

Check your rig before you pick a route. NPS doesn't let vehicles over its size limits drive the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway between Canyon Junction and the East Entrance. The limits are 7 feet 10 inches wide and 11 feet 4 inches tall for any vehicle. A single vehicle can be up to 35 feet 9 inches long. A vehicle with a trailer can be up to 50 feet in total, with a trailer no longer than 26 feet from hitch to rear axle. Measurements include mirrors, tires, and add-ons like bike racks and AC units. An RV over the limits can still come in through the South Entrance, where NPS says parking and camping are available as conditions allow, but it can't go past Canyon Junction. The full rules are on the NPS large vehicles page, and Zion road closures covers the seasonal roads.

South is closed and not listed.

Camp rules that change your trip.

Check out by 11 am, and check in any time after noon. Quiet hours run 10 pm to 8 am, and they apply to generators, radios, and pets too. A standard site allows up to 6 people (children under 2 don't count), 2 vehicles or 4 motorcycles, and 3 tents. Watchman's group sites are in Loop E. An RV or trailer counts as one of the vehicles, and only one is allowed per site. Everything has to fit inside the site's parking area and boundaries.

Generators are banned at Watchman. At Lava Point they may run only from 8 to 10 am and 6 to 8 pm.

Stay limits follow your party. From March through November you get 14 days in total in the developed campgrounds. The rest of the year allows up to 30 more, for 44 days in a calendar year. Group sites cap at 7 days a visit and 14 days a year.

No campfires for now. Stage 2 fire restrictions are in effect, per the NPS alert checked September 11, 2026. That means no open fires of any kind, including campfires and charcoal fires at Watchman and in the Zion Canyon picnic areas. Petroleum or propane stoves are allowed. Check the alerts on the Current Conditions page before your trip, because seasonal fire restrictions are common. When fires are allowed, use the grate at your site and buy firewood in a nearby town, because gathering wood in the park is prohibited.

Store all food, drinks, garbage, toiletries, pet food, and anything else with a scent in a bear-resistant container, or throw it away in a proper receptacle. Don't hang hammocks, slacklines, or anything else from trees or park structures. Pets are allowed if they're restrained and you clean up after them.

Backcountry camping. Sleeping outside a campground takes a Wilderness Permit, which NPS requires for every overnight backpacking trip, at $20 per permit plus $7 per person per night (see the NPS wilderness permits page).

Camping and the crowd calendar.

Watchman is open every month, so the calendar is really about how hard a site is to get. NPS says the campgrounds are full almost every night from mid-March through late November, and the visit numbers show why. March averages 68% of June's visits, and April through October never drops below 77%. November falls to 50% and December to 36%. January and February are the quietest, at 23% and 25% of June, with average lows of 30°F and 34°F. Summer is the hard stretch at Watchman: NPS notes the campground area is desert with very few trees, and July's average high is 100°F. Lava Point, at 7,890 feet, is usually open only May through September.

Month-by-month tradeoffs are on the best time to visit Zion page.

Outside the park.

If Watchman is full, NPS says several campgrounds are a short drive from the park and links four local sources: East Zion, the St. George Area Visitor Bureau, the BLM St. George Field Office camping brochure, and Kane County, which includes Kanab. We don't track those campgrounds' seasons, prices, or rules, so check with each one before you go.

Common questions.

How much does it cost to camp in Zion National Park?

At Watchman, non-electric sites are $35 a night, electric sites are $45, and group sites are $50, $90, or $130 depending on size. Lava Point's tent sites are $25. South Campground's standard sites are $35 when it's open, but it's closed for rehabilitation. The park entrance fee is separate.

How far in advance can you book a campsite in Zion?

Watchman's standard sites open six months before your date, and its group sites 12 months before. Lava Point opens 14 days ahead. All of them book on Recreation.gov, and there are no first-come, first-served sites.

Is South Campground in Zion open?

No. NPS says South Campground is closed for a long-term rehabilitation project and gives no reopening date. Check the NPS Current Conditions page before you plan around it.

Is there free camping in or near Zion National Park?

Not inside the park. Every campground site needs a paid reservation, and sleeping in the backcountry needs a paid Wilderness Permit. For camping outside the park, NPS links the BLM St. George Field Office camping brochure among its local options. We don't track those sites.

Where these facts come from

The campground count, the reservation rule, the booking windows, the full-almost-every-night note, the desert heat note, and the local campground links come from the NPS Zion camping page. South Campground's closure comes from the NPS operating hours page and the Current Conditions page; the Stage 2 fire restrictions from the NPS park alerts shown on that page. Check-in and check-out, quiet hours, occupancy, generators, stay limits, food storage, pets, wood gathering, and the wilderness permit rule come from the NPS camping regulations page. Sites, fees, seasons, RV and trailer lengths, loops, group-site booking windows, dump stations, showers, toilets, fire restrictions, the phone number, Lava Point's elevation, and campground coordinates come from the NPS API campground records. The $5 dump station fee comes from the NPS fees page, wilderness permit fees from the NPS wilderness permits page, and the highway size limits from the NPS large vehicles page. Visit shares are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from NPS Visitor Use Statistics, as a percentage of June. Temperatures are NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals. Crowd numbers are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package on NPS IRMA Stats. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.