Zion · Sports & events

Zion's sandstone climbs in spring and autumn; summer is too hot and winter too wet. Canyoneering permits for the technical slots are issued by lottery and walk-in.

Trail races run out of Springdale and Virgin in the spring shoulder — a half marathon and a hundred-mile ultra on the mesas above the canyon.

The chains section needs a permit won in a seasonal or day-before lottery. Applications cost a couple of dollars; plenty of people never draw one.

With cars banned from Zion Canyon most of the year, the road is a rare piece of quiet tarmac. Rentals and e-bikes come out of Springdale.