The permit hike Kanarraville
Since 1 May 2018, and the town means it
Kanarra Falls permits, the system, not just the price.
A permit is required for every hiker at Kanarra Falls, bought online in advance, with no walk-in office anywhere in town. Here is how the system actually works, why it exists, and the honest window to book ahead in.
Start here
One ticket, bought ahead, and no walk-in office.
Kanarra Falls has run on a permit system since 1 May 2018, and the mechanics are simple even when the demand is not. Every hiker needs an advance ticket purchased online at kanarrafalls.com, priced at 15 dollars a person as of this writing, with children 7 and under free but still requiring a ticket when the group books. There is no walk-in permit office anywhere in Kanarraville. A limited number of same-day tickets can sometimes be bought at the trailhead kiosk, but only whatever the online system has not already sold, and on a summer weekend that is frequently nothing by mid morning.
The town's own information caps general admission at 200 tickets a day. Earlier public reporting around the permit system's early years quoted lower daily caps, and the number has moved before, so treat any specific figure, including this one, as a snapshot rather than a promise, and confirm the current cap directly at kanarrafalls.com before you plan around it.
The canyon is staffed roughly March through November, with a shorter, more limited winter operation. In the busiest stretch of the season, generally mid spring through early fall, tickets for weekend dates can sell out one to two weeks ahead, so booking a week or more in advance is the safer plan for anyone traveling from out of town.
Kanarra Falls permits, at a glance
2018
the permit system began, on 1 May
$15
per person, hedge for changes
200
general admission tickets a day
7 & under
hike free, ticket still required
Why this exists
45,000 people, one canyon, and no cap at all.
The permit system did not appear out of caution. It appeared because the canyon was being overrun. Word of mouth and social media pushed Kanarra Falls from a local secret into a widely shared destination, and by 2017 an estimated 45,000 people hiked the canyon in a single year with no fee, no reservation and no cap of any kind, on land that was never simply open public ground.
That land belongs to the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands, a state agency that leases and manages property to help fund Utah's public schools, and the Town of Kanarraville operates the hike under a lease agreement with SITLA. Uncapped visitation was straining both the canyon itself and the small town whose streets absorbed the overflow parking, so on 1 May 2018 the Town, Iron County government and SITLA moved the public onto the ticketed system that still governs the hike today.
That history matters for how you should treat the permit itself. It is not a park entrance fee in the ordinary sense; it is a working land management tool on a lease, and the town has said plainly that trespassing beyond the marked stopping point at the final waterfall will be prosecuted.
The canyon is not simply public land with a fee attached. It sits on Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands, leased and managed by the Town of Kanarraville. Respect the marked stopping point at the final waterfall; the land beyond it is off limits to the public entirely.
Booking it
One site, and one honest window to plan around.
kanarrafalls.com is the only official source for tickets, and it is worth bookmarking rather than relying on a third party booking page or an old trip report for current pricing. Tickets are sold by date rather than by a specific entry time, and once the day's cap is reached online sales close for that date.
In the shoulder months, late winter and early spring before runoff, and again in late fall, tickets are generally easier to find close to a trip. In the peak window, roughly mid spring through early fall, popular weekend dates have been known to sell out one to two weeks ahead, so book earlier than you think you need to if a specific weekend matters.
Groups matter here too. Commercial and larger group bookings run through a separate, higher priced process than the standard general admission ticket, so a guided trip or an organized outing should confirm its own arrangement directly with the town or its booking system rather than assuming the individual rate applies.
A permit here is not a formality. It is the reason this canyon is still in good enough shape to be worth visiting at all.
Keep reading
More of Kanarraville on The Local.
Things to do
The top 7, ranked
Seven picks, ranked, from the permit hike to the free canyon nobody talks about.
Read the guideThe canyon itself
Kanarra Creek Canyon
The ladder, the wading, and when the water makes it a bad idea.
Read the guideZion's quiet door
Kolob Canyons
A separate Zion entrance fifteen minutes south, and why locals treat it as an evening trip.
Read the guideThe town
Under the Hurricane Cliffs
A town of 440 that a busy weekend can outnumber by mid morning.
Read the guideMoving here
Living on Kanarra Creek
Three water systems, no subdivisions, and a market that moves slowly.
Read the guideThe companion
Kanarraville, from a local
The permit hike, the town underneath it, and the whole honest story in one place.
Read the pageQuick answers
Permits, answered.
As of this writing, 15 dollars a person for general admission, with children 7 and under free but still requiring a ticket when the group books. Commercial or larger group bookings run a separate, higher rate. Treat this figure as a snapshot and confirm the current price at kanarrafalls.com before you go.
Online at kanarrafalls.com, the official booking site for the hike. There is no walk-in permit office in Kanarraville. A limited number of same-day tickets can sometimes be bought at the trailhead kiosk, but only whatever the online system has not already sold for that date.
The town's own published figure caps general admission at 200 tickets a day. That number has moved before over the life of the permit program, so confirm the current cap directly at kanarrafalls.com rather than treating any single figure as permanent.
In the busy stretch, roughly mid spring through early fall, popular weekend dates have sold out one to two weeks ahead, so booking at least a week out is the safer plan if a specific date matters. In the quieter shoulder months, tickets are generally easier to find closer to a trip.
Because the canyon had no cap at all before 2018 and it showed. An estimated 45,000 people hiked it in 2017 alone, straining both the trail and the small town around the trailhead. On 1 May 2018, the Town of Kanarraville, Iron County government and the land's owner, the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands, moved the public onto the ticketed system that still governs the hike today.
The Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands, a state agency that leases and manages land to help fund Utah's public schools. The Town of Kanarraville operates the hike under a lease agreement with SITLA, which is why the town, not a federal or state park agency, sets and enforces the permit system.
You are trespassing on private, off-limits land. The town's own materials mark the final waterfall as the stopping point, warn against unofficial ropes or ladders beyond it, and state plainly that trespassers will be prosecuted. It is also a genuinely dangerous stretch for search and rescue to reach.
Yes. Spring Creek, a separate canyon a mile south of town, has no permit and no fee at all. It is a different, shorter and rougher hike rather than a free version of Kanarra Falls, and it is covered in full on this companion's canyon page.
Yes. The standard per person rate applies to individuals and typical family or friend groups. Commercial operators and larger organized groups book through a separate, higher priced process, and any guided outfit or event should confirm its own arrangement directly with the town's booking system rather than assuming the general admission rate applies.
A tiny market next to one of the state's most managed hikes.
Kanarraville's permit system says something real about how the town protects what it has, and that same protectiveness shows up in how slowly its housing stock turns over. I track what has actually closed here, not a portal's guess, and that matters in a market this small.