East Zion - Mount Carmel Highway in Utah

The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway is comprised of 30% wow, 30% awe and 40% amazement. Few roads in North America, if not the world, can match this stunning 14-mile stretch of pavement which wanders through a landscape full of massively large, abstract geological formations.

The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, or what most maps list as Utah Route 9, jabs into Zion National Park from the east, beginning at Mount Carmel Junction (where Routes 9 and 89 intersect). The wow is immediate, making you wonder how such a common mountain valley landscape could suddenly become so mind-numbing dramatic. Upon entering the park your eyes are immediately treated to Checkerboard Mesa, one of erosion's greatest masterpieces. From here the road disappears into the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel. Completed in 1930, this 1.1 mile monument to human engineering is an attraction of a different sort that adds to the route's zow-factor. The road then spills into Pine Creek Canyon with its many switchbacks and pullouts. Perfectly sculpted mountains decorate every view, heightening expectations that at any moment you'll start hearing Handel's Hallelujah echoing through the valley.

Don't expect to zip through the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway during summer. Due to the high volume of tourists it can take one to two hours to complete. If you're driving a large RV you may need an escort through the tunnel at a cost of $15. Contact the park at (435) 772-3256 for escort information .