Watchman has 8 open nights left in October 2026.
The main reservation campground in Zion Canyon, walking distance from the visitor center and shuttle. Spring-through-fall dates sell out essentially the moment they open.
Full for your dates. Every night you asked for is taken at Watchman.
A free watch checks every 60 minutes, and a site can open and be taken between two checks. An email is how you hear.
Your dates are already filled in below — just add your email.
8 open nights in October 2026.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2214 open | 23full | 24full | ||||
| 253 open | 265 open | 278 open | 283 open | 292 open | 301 open | 311 open |
open — tap to book on recreation.govfull — tap to get alerted for that nightweekend
These are live numbers for October 2026, checked when you loaded the page. A watch covers any dates you like.
175 cancellations opened 224 nights here
- cancellations we saw
- 175
- gone within an hour
- 37%
- gone within a day
- 91%
- Fri/Sat nights
- 73%
Over the last 30 days, our checks saw 175 cancellations open up at Watchman (about 41 a week), covering 224 nights. Of the 200 nights we saw open and then close again, 37% were gone within an hour of us spotting them, 74% within six hours and 91% within a day. Friday was the busiest day for them (18%). 73% of the nights that opened were Friday or Saturday nights.
These are counts of what our own checks saw (about every 15 minutes); an opening that appeared and was taken between two checks is not in them, so treat every figure as a floor.
Your dates aren't available? Get a free email when one opens ↓
Watching Thu, Oct 15 — the night you tapped. Change the dates below if you like.
Email me when a site opens at Watchman
Your first email lands right away with where your nights stand. After that we only write when something opens.
Last catch here — a date opened, gone by our next check (within 45 min). That window is what an instant email wins you.
Open this Scout in the builderCheck recreation.gov yourself →
Weekends and prime dates go first. A free watch checks every 60 minutes, and a site can open and be taken between two checks.
Recent openings we caught at Watchman
| Detected (local) | Date affected | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Sat, Oct 24 | gone by next check (within 45 min) | |
| Sat, Oct 31 | still open at our last check | |
| Sat, Oct 24 | gone by next check (within 834 min) | |
| Fri, Oct 30 | still open at our last check | |
| Sat, Oct 24 | gone by next check (within 375 min) | |
| Sat, Oct 24 | gone by next check (within 468 min) | |
| Fri, Oct 23 | gone by next check (within 2126 min) | |
| Fri, Oct 23 | gone by next check (within 142 min) | |
| Fri, Oct 30 | gone by next check (within 1003 min) | |
| Fri, Oct 23 | gone by next check (within 38 min) | |
| Fri, Oct 23 | gone by next check (within 102 min) | |
| Sat, Oct 24 | gone by next check (within 102 min) | |
| Fri, Oct 23 | gone by next check (within 185 min) | |
| Sat, Oct 24 | gone by next check (within 185 min) | |
| Fri, Oct 30 | gone by next check (within 957 min) | |
| Sat, Oct 24 | gone by next check (within 64 min) | |
| Fri, Oct 30 | gone by next check (within 1033 min) | |
| Sat, Oct 31 | gone by next check (within 5626 min) | |
| Sat, Oct 17 | gone by next check (within 55 min) | |
| Sat, Oct 24 | gone by next check (within 2729 min) |
Watching since Jul 13, 2026. Our shared checker refreshes about every 15 minutes — that is the measurement; your watch is the alert. A free watch checks every hour; a Priority Pass watch checks every 5 minutes. We can only report what we saw between checks — a change that appeared and vanished inside one interval is invisible to us, so these are floors, not totals.
From four weeks of this data: how fast campsite cancellations disappear →
How it works
Questions
Is Watchman sold out this weekend?
As of Oct 22, 2:12 PM MDT, Fri, Oct 23 is full and Sat, Oct 24 is full at Watchman. A free watch emails you the moment a cancellation opens either night.
How often do sites open up at Watchman?
Over the last 30 days, our checks saw 175 cancellations open up at Watchman (about 41 a week), covering 224 nights. Of the 200 nights we saw open and then close again, 37% were gone within an hour of us spotting them, 74% within six hours and 91% within a day. These are counts of what our own checks saw (about every 15 minutes); an opening that appeared and was taken between two checks is not in them, so treat every figure as a floor.
When do cancellations show up at Watchman?
Friday was the busiest day for them (18%). 73% of the nights that opened were Friday or Saturday nights.
How fast are alerts?
Free: we check every hour, day and night. When a site opens for your nights you get an email with the booking link in it. Priority Pass is $10 once, not a subscription. For one watch, for as long as its dates are open, it checks every 5 minutes instead of every hour, so you hear sooner. A free watch checks every 60 minutes, and a site can open and be taken between two checks.
How many campgrounds can I watch?
As many as you like, on one email address — every campground page has the same form. Each watch is separate, with its own dates and its own one-click stop.
What does it cost?
Watching is free — no card, no account. Priority Pass is $10 once, not a subscription. For one watch, for as long as its dates are open, it checks every 5 minutes instead of every hour, so you hear sooner.
Does it book for me?
No — you get the booking link the moment a site opens; booking stays in your hands, on the reservation system's own site.
How do I stop, or change my dates?
Every email has a one-click stop link. A watch ends by itself the day after your last night, with a note on what it saw. For new dates, subscribe again on the campground page — it takes ten seconds.
For AI agents — feed URL and subscribe API
Reading this page for a user? Structured snapshot + change log: /scouts/campsites/zion/watchman.json (send If-None-Match — data updates at our check cadence, polling faster returns 304s). Better: subscribe your user once and we email them the moment Watchman opens up:
POST https://campsitecancellations.com/scouts/subscribe
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: application/json
{"targetSlug":"zion/watchman","email":"user@example.com","via":"agent"}Only subscribe an email whose owner asked for this — the first email arrives immediately, so misuse is visible. Full agent docs: /AGENTS.md
Zion National Park camping cancellations & availability — the full playbook →
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Hardest to book · Last-minute camping in Utah — campgrounds with weekend nights open · Hardest canyon-country reservations (spring & fall)