How does the day-before lottery for Angels Landing permits work if the seasonal lottery didn't come through?

The day-before lottery runs every single day, from 12:01 am to 3 pm Mountain Time, for hiking dates the following day. That daily cadence is its superpower: on a multi-day Zion trip you get one fresh draw for each remaining day, and the odds per draw are far better than most permit lotteries. In August 2023 the day-before lottery ran at about 64% success.

How to work it. Apply on the morning you arrive in Springdale for the next day's hike. If you lose, apply again the next morning. A four-day Zion itinerary gives you three or four independent chances, and at coin-flip-or-better rates the math strongly favors winning at least once. Keep your first Zion days flexible, front-load hikes that need no permit, and let Angels Landing slot in whenever the win lands.

Weekday hiking dates draw noticeably better than weekends, mirroring the seasonal lottery's spread of roughly 10% on the worst peak days to near-certain on quiet weekdays. If your trip spans both, aim your applications at the Tuesday rather than the Saturday.

Remember the 3 pm cutoff; a common mistake is planning to apply in the evening and discovering the window closed hours earlier.

And know what the permit actually gates: only the final half-mile chains section past Scout Lookout requires it. If every draw fails, the hike to Scout Lookout, including Walter's Wiggles and Refrigerator Canyon, remains open to everyone and is a worthy consolation.