Zion National Park entrance fee and passes.

Buying and using the pass.

At the gate. Every entrance station sells passes, including the $70 Zion Annual Pass, which is sold in person. NPS prefers a credit or debit card, and cash is also accepted. There's nothing to reserve, so buying on arrival works.

Or buy ahead. A digital America the Beautiful pass from Recreation.gov saves to your phone and works right away. A physical pass ordered online from the USGS store can take up to three weeks to arrive, and NPS won't accept the order receipt in place of the pass.

Keep the pass with you. You don't have to display it in the car, but you'll need to show it to get back in, whether you drive or walk. That includes driving in, parking in Springdale, and walking or riding the shuttle back to the pedestrian and bike entrance at Zion Canyon Village. Passes are non-transferable, and if you lose or forget yours, you buy another.

Bring photo ID with any annual pass. NPS says America the Beautiful passholders must show valid photo ID with each pass. Those passes are non-refundable, non-transferable, and can't be replaced if lost or stolen.

Groups and tours. A non-commercial group in a vehicle seating 16 or more pays $20 a person, with kids 15 and under free, and never more than the commercial fee for the same size vehicle. Anyone in the group with a valid annual or lifetime pass can use it for entry at the per-person rate, with the pass and photo ID present. Commercial tours pay by seating capacity, full or not: $70 for a van seating 7 to 15, $80 for a mini-bus seating 16 to 25, and $190 for a motor coach seating 26 or more. A commercial tour of 1 to 6 people pays $35 plus $20 a person, up to $70. Tour passes last the day of purchase and the next six days for the same group. Non-U.S. residents on commercial, CUA, or concessioner tours still owe the $100 fee.

The $100 nonresident fee.

Each non-U.S. resident 16 and older pays a $100 nonresident fee at Zion on top of the standard entrance fee, unless they come in on an annual or America the Beautiful pass. For two non-U.S. adults in a rental car, that's $35 plus $200, or $235. For four, it's $435. The $250 non-resident America the Beautiful pass covers the entire vehicle, or two motorcycles, or the holder plus three more adults where fees are charged per person. Three adults in one car already pay $335 at the gate, so the pass wins at Zion alone.

If anyone in the car is a U.S. citizen or resident, their pass can do the same job for everyone. Per the NPS nonresident fee page, every valid America the Beautiful pass and park-specific annual pass covers entrance and nonresident fees for the holder and passengers in a private vehicle, or the holder and three more adults where fees are per person. That includes the $70 Zion Annual Pass, a $20 senior pass, and the free Access, military, and 4th grade passes. The pass holder has to be in the vehicle.

Photo ID decides the price. Resident pricing is checked when you use a pass, not only when you buy it. NPS says purchasers show photo ID at the time of use, and someone who isn't eligible for the resident pass is asked to upgrade to the $250 non-resident pass. Acceptable proof of U.S. citizenship or residency includes a U.S. passport, a state or territory driver's license or state ID, or a green card. If you're a U.S. resident, carry that ID with your pass.

Zion is one of eleven parks that charge this fee, per the NPS entrance fee prices page. Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon are on the list too, so Zion plus Bryce Canyon is $200 a head in nonresident fees before any vehicle fees. Arches is not on the list. Fee-free days don't help: from 2026 they're for U.S. citizens and residents only, and nonresidents pay the regular entrance fee and the nonresident fee.

Free entrance days in 2026.

NPS lists eight fee-free dates for 2026, ten days in all: February 16, May 25, June 14, July 3 to 5, August 25, September 17, October 27, and November 11. Entrance is free for U.S. citizens and residents only. NPS notes that other fees, including reservation fees, may still apply. Seven of the ten days have passed. The three left in 2026 are September 17, October 27, and November 11.

Most of the 2026 days fell in Zion's busy season. June is the park's busiest month, with about 20,100 recreation visits a day on average over the past five years, and May and July run about 18,300 and 17,900. February 16 was the quiet one, at about 5,500 a day. Of the three days left, September averages about 15,900 visits a day, October about 15,800, and November about 10,000, so November 11 is the calmest.

Permits, parking, and other fees.

No entry reservation. NPS says you don't need a reservation to enter Zion, only the entrance fee. The park shuttle is free to ride and needs no permit or reservation; routes and hours are on our Zion shuttle page.

Parking. Zion's fees page lists no separate parking fee. NPS lots often fill early in the day, and paid parking in Springdale is run by the town or local businesses. Walk in from Springdale and you still pay the entrance fee. Our Zion parking page covers where to leave the car.

Angels Landing. The hike needs a permit. It costs $6 to apply, non-refundable, and one application covers up to six people. If you're selected, you pay $3 per person, and a seasonal lottery permit refunds that $3 if you cancel at least two days before your hike. How the lottery works is on our Zion permits and reservations page, and the fees are on the NPS Angels Landing page.

Canyoneering and wilderness trips. NPS lists canyoneering, overnight backpacking, overnight climbing, and hiking The Narrows or The Subway among the trips that need a paid permit. For The Narrows, that means the 16-mile through-hike from Chamberlain's Ranch. Hiking upstream from the Temple of Sinawava as far as Big Spring needs no permit, per the NPS Narrows page. Day-use and canyoneering permits cost a $6 lottery or reservation fee (non-refundable) plus $10 per person (refundable). Overnight permits cost $20 per permit (non-refundable) plus $7 per person per night (refundable). Walk-up permits issued in person carry the same fees. Four people on a two-night backpacking trip pay $20 plus $56, or $76, on top of the entrance fee. Details are on the NPS wilderness permits page.

RV dump station. If you aren't camping, one use of the water fill and dump station at Watchman Campground is $5, paid to campground staff at the kiosk when they're there. Campers with a camping reservation don't pay it separately. Campsites themselves need a paid reservation; see Zion camping.

Is the annual pass worth it?

Two seven-day vehicle passes cost $70, the same as the Zion Annual Pass, so the annual pass breaks even on a second trip within its 12 months and saves money from the third. If Zion is one stop on a longer loop, look at the $80 America the Beautiful pass. Bryce Canyon charges $35 per vehicle, so Zion plus Bryce Canyon is $70 at the gates, just under the pass. Add Arches at $30 or Grand Canyon at $35 and the pass comes out ahead. If you're 62 or older, the $80 Senior Lifetime Pass costs the same as one year of the regular pass. Zion's fees don't change by season, so pick your dates on the best time to visit Zion page and budget the pass separately.

For non-U.S. residents, the math tips toward the $250 pass fast. Three adults in one car cross it at Zion alone. A solo traveler crosses it on a second park that charges the nonresident fee, such as Bryce Canyon or Grand Canyon: $135 at each gate is $270. The calculator above runs your own numbers.

Common questions.

How much does it cost to get into Zion National Park?

$35 per private vehicle for up to seven days, $30 for up to two motorcycles, or $20 per person on foot or bike for visitors 16 and older. Kids under 16 are free. Non-U.S. residents 16 and older add $100 each unless a valid annual or America the Beautiful pass admits them.

Is there a fee to drive through Zion National Park?

Yes. NPS says you need a pass if you enter Zion, even if you're only passing through. The $35 vehicle pass covers everyone in the car for seven days.

Is parking free in Zion National Park?

Zion's fees page lists no separate parking fee for the park's lots, but those lots often fill early in the day. Parking in Springdale is paid and run by the town or local businesses, and you still pay the entrance fee when you walk in. See our Zion parking page for where to park.

Are national parks free for seniors?

Not free, but close. U.S. citizens and residents 62 and older can buy a Senior Annual Pass for $20 or a Senior Lifetime Pass for $80. Either one covers the Zion entrance fee for the holder and everyone in the car, and it covers the $100 nonresident fee for passengers too.

Does Zion have timed entry?

No. NPS says visitors don't need a reservation to enter the park, only the entrance fee, and the shuttle needs no reservation either. The permits Zion does require are for specific trips, like Angels Landing, canyoneering, and overnight wilderness camping.

Where these facts come from

Entrance, annual, America the Beautiful, group, and commercial prices, the pass rules (re-entry, non-transferable passes, photo ID, digital and mail-order passes), the 2026 fee-free dates, the permit list, and the dump station fee come from the NPS Zion fees page. Nonresident fee rules, pass coverage for passengers, residency documents, and photo ID at time of use come from the NPS nonresident fee page; the eleven-park list from the NPS entrance fee prices page; the $250 pass coverage and the U.S.-residents-only rule for fee-free days from the NPS fee-free days page. Angels Landing fees come from the NPS Angels Landing permits page; canyoneering and overnight permit fees from the NPS wilderness permits page; The Narrows permit rule from the NPS Narrows page; the no-reservation entry rule, the free shuttle, and the parking notes from the NPS shuttle page. Bryce Canyon, Arches, and Grand Canyon vehicle fees and their nonresident fee status come from our fee tables built from the Bryce Canyon, Arches, and Grand Canyon NPS fees pages. Daily visit figures are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from NPS Visitor Use Statistics, divided by the days in the month. Calculator results are our arithmetic on the fee table. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.