Multiple climbing routes within Zion National Park have been closed as of Tuesday according to the National Park Services.
The National Park Service announced in a press release that all routes that have been closed are used as nesting areas for the peregrine falcons within the area. Peregrine Falcons tend to spook easily and are especially sensitive to their nesting areas being disturbed. If a nesting area is disturbed, the falcons are known to abandon their nest and not return until the following year.
The current closure dates have been set based on the monitoring of the falcons by the National Park Service during the previous year.
Those wishing to climb in Zion should continue to monitor the Seasonal Climbing webpage for details on when climbing routes will reopen.
The following climbing sites have been closed and will remain closed until further notice:
- Angels Landing
- Cable Mountain
- The Great white Throne
- Isaac (located in the Court of the Patriarchs)
- The Sentinel
- Mountain of the Sun
- North Twin Brother
- Tunnel Wall
- The East Temple
- Mount Spry
- The Streaked Wall
- Mount Kinesava
All other cliffs within the park will remain open for climbing. Zion National Park has provided a 2022 Guide to help visitors navigate the cliff-specific closure boundaries. Climbers are responsible to check the map for closed areas and the Seasonal Climbing webpage for updates on when areas reopen for climbers.
Throughout the 2022 Peregrine Falcon breeding season, park wildlife biologists and volunteers from the Zion Climbing Coalition will be present monitoring the nesting activity. Initial closures will cover a more broad area at the beginning of the breeding season to give the falcons first choice is selecting their suitable nest sites.
As volunteers and park services monitor and identify the selected nesting locations, areas that are not selected by the falcons will reopen. There is no reopening date set for climbers to return to the closed locations listed above, but visitors can anticipate openings towards the end of spring to the beginning of summer.