Month guide
The most comfortable hiking temperatures of the spring, and the month the river is most likely to keep you out of the Narrows.
Duck Creek Village is still at the tail of winter in April. Highs are around 50°F, nights go well below freezing, and the median snow depth in the village is over a foot, melting fast by the end of the month. The roads down to the parks are usually clear, but a spring storm can still put snow on SR-14 and US-89, so check conditions on the morning you drive.
Checked against National Park Service pages on November 9, 2026. Dates that change every year are given for 2026 where 2027 has not been announced yet. Confirm on the park's conditions page before you go: Zion conditions.
Running all month. The 2026 spring schedule (March 7 to May 16, 2026: first bus 7 a.m. from the visitor center, last bus up-canyon 6 p.m., last bus out of the Temple of Sinawava 7:15 p.m.) is the best guide until the park posts 2027 times. Private cars are not allowed on the Scenic Drive while it runs.
April is the month most likely to close it. Since 1989 the North Fork has been above the 150 cfs closure line on 32% of days from April 1 to 15 and 53% from April 16 to 30. In the NPS list of snowmelt closures for 2012 to 2026, seven of the fifteen springs had one that began in April. The Riverside Walk stays open either way. Details
Required past Scout Lookout. The spring lottery for hikes March 1 to May 31 takes applications January 1, 2027 to January 20, 2027, with results January 25, 2027. Miss it and the day-before lottery runs every day. Details
Open. NPS notes the road can close for snow or ice in the winter months, so check current conditions early in the spring. Separate entrance at I-15 exit 40.
Open all year, no shuttle. Canyon Overlook parking is very limited, so arrive early. Details
The road through Cedar Breaks closes for snowpack from about mid-November to mid-May on average, and the visitor center from mid-October to late May (NPS). Details
The dates the National Park Service lists for when the North Fork of the Virgin River ran consistently above 150 cfs from snowmelt. Flow can still dip below the line inside these windows, and storms close it at other times. Live flow is on our Narrows guide.
| Year | Closed | Reopened |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Open most of the time | |
| 2025 | Open most of the time | |
| 2024 | April 11 | May 19 |
| 2023 | April 8 | June 19 |
| 2022 | Open most of the time | |
| 2021 | Open most of the time | |
| 2020 | April 9 | May 18 |
| 2019 | April 6 | June 22 |
| 2018 | Open most of the time | |
| 2017 | March 11 | May 21 |
| 2016 | April 3 | May 22 |
| 2015 | Open most of the time | |
| 2014 | Open most of the time | |
| 2013 | April 30 | May 2 |
| 2012 | April 17 | April 28 |
Zion had 538,541 recreation visits in April 2025, about 17,951 a day, which made April the third-busiest month of the year. Over 2022 to 2025 April ranged from 450,819 to 538,541. Easter is early in 2027 (March 28, 2027), so it falls in March rather than April, but spring breaks continue into April.
Recreation visits in April (solid bar) against that year's busiest month (pale bar). NPS visitor use statistics; 2025 is the latest full year published.
| 2027 | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 1 | 7:19 AM | 7:54 PM | 12 hr 36 min |
| April 15 | 6:58 AM | 8:07 PM | 13 hr 8 min |
| April 30 | 6:39 AM | 8:20 PM | 13 hr 41 min |
Computed for the Zion visitor center with the standard sunrise equation, Mountain Time. Zion Canyon’s walls hide the sun for some time after sunrise and before sunset, so direct sun on the canyon floor is shorter than this.
With the Narrows often closed, April is the month for the trails that climb out of the canyon and for the east side and Kolob, which take the pressure off the shuttle.
Walter's Wiggles to Scout Lookout needs no permit. Only the chains section beyond it does.
3.8 mi round trip, 1,187 ft of climbing, 3–4 hours
Angels Landing guideOn the way in from Duck Creek, no shuttle, and the best view for the effort in the park.
1 mi round trip, 163 ft of climbing, 1–2 hours
East Entrance guideFrom the visitor center, no shuttle needed. Do it early or late; there is little shade.
2.8 mi round trip, 479 ft of climbing, 1–2 hours
In Kolob Canyons, a separate entrance off I-15 and far quieter than Zion Canyon. Expect creek crossings.
5.2 mi round trip, 799 ft of climbing, 3–4 hours
The paved mile to the mouth of the Narrows. When the river is too high to wade, this is as far as anyone goes.
2 mi round trip, 154 ft of climbing, 1–2 hours
The Narrows guideDistances and climbing are National Park Service figures. The full list is on our best hikes in Zion page.
From Duck Creek Village it is 46 miles and about 55 minutes to the East Entrance, and roughly an hour and a half to the main visitor center through the tunnel.
In April the plateau is cold at night and the parks are mild by day. That suits people who want a quiet base for both Zion and Bryce. If Zion is the whole trip and you want the first shuttle every day, Springdale is closer.
Duck Creek Village Inn Hotel rooms Cabins The Zion to Bryce Canyon drive
Answers drawn from the same NOAA, NPS and UDOT sources as the rest of this page.
The NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals for the canyon floor are a high of 73°F and a low of 44°F, with 1.22 inches of precipitation and no measurable snow. It is mild and mostly dry, warming steadily through the month.
An average April day runs from about 44°F at dawn to 73°F in the afternoon on the canyon floor. The higher ground at the East Entrance and Kolob Canyons is cooler, and Duck Creek Village, an hour east at 8,400 ft, is closer to 50°F by day and well below freezing at night.
Sometimes. April is the month most likely to close it, because snowmelt pushes the river over the 150 cfs closure line. Since 1989 that has happened on 32% of days in the first half of April and 53% in the second half. Some years it barely closes at all: NPS lists 2025 and 2026 as open most of the time. Check the live flow before you go.
Yes. April 2025 had 538,541 recreation visits, the third-busiest month of the year, and the shuttle lines and Springdale parking reflect it. Weekdays and early starts make the biggest difference.
Yes, past Scout Lookout. April hikes come from the spring lottery (applications January 1, 2027 to January 20, 2027, results January 25, 2027) or from the day-before lottery. The hike to Scout Lookout itself needs no permit.
9 November 2026
Temperatures, precipitation and snowfall are NOAA 1991 to 2020 monthly normals for the Zion NP station on the canyon floor (USC00429717). Duck Creek Village figures are our estimate, interpolated from the NOAA normals of the stations above and below it, with snow depth from the NRCS SNOTEL record. Visitor numbers are National Park Service recreation visits by month. Shuttle, road and trail conditions were checked on the National Park Service pages on November 9, 2026, and sunrise and sunset are computed. Where we could not confirm a 2027 date, we give the 2026 one and say so.
Back to the full guide hub.
The Zion guides behind the numbers on this page.
Classic canyon country, about an hour from Duck Creek Village
View guide
Gear, conditions, and how far to go when hiking up the Virgin River
See the narrows
Permit system, trail details, and local tips for one of America’s most famous hikes
See angels landing
Zion hikes by difficulty, picked for day-trippers from Duck Creek
See best hikesOther months, and the drive between the parks.
Zion in March: canyon-floor normals, when the shuttle starts, Narrows runoff odds, Angels Landing permits and NPS crowd numbers.
See pageZion in May: warm, dry and the busiest month of 2025. Heat, Narrows odds, Cedar Breaks reopening and the best early-start hikes.
See pageBryce Canyon in April: the thaw, late snow, when the shuttle starts and which loops are hikeable.
See pageThe 85-mile drive between the two parks, measured: mileposts, the elevation profile, the tunnel size limits and live road cameras along the way.
See pageRooms and cabins on the plateau between Zion and Bryce Canyon.
About 46 miles from Zion's East Entrance at 8,400 ft, with Bryce Canyon about an hour the other way.
