Utah · United States
Zion–Mount Carmel Highway
UT 9SR 9Springdale to Mount Carmel Junction
Switchbacks and a famous tunnel through Zion’s red-rock canyons.
UT 9 climbs out of Zion Canyon on tight switchbacks to the mile-long Zion–Mount Carmel Tunnel, emerging into a surreal world of slickrock domes and red-rock canyons on the way east. Slow and scenic; mind the tunnel’s traffic control for larger vehicles, the heavy tourist traffic, and bighorn sheep on the road.
Switchbacks claw up the red canyon wall to a tunnel bored through the sandstone, its windows flashing the valley below. Then it’s pale slickrock all the way east.
Why we picked it
Scenery
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Where it runs19.9 mi · point to point
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Character
Corners
busiest around mile 2Elevation
under 4%4–8%over 8%1,199.8 – 1,865.3 mFrom the road
Points of interest1 stop
- Checkerboard MesaViewpoint11 mi in
Hazards
- Tunnel traffic control and low clearance
- Heavy tourist traffic
- Bighorn sheep on the road
Sources
“an extra stunning way to cover a lot of amazing ground”
Verified route: mapped from real road geometry and fact-checked by a human editor. How roads get checked
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