Back
Zion–Mount Carmel Highway, Zion National Park, Utah
Photo: Don Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0 · cropped

Drives Utah Zion, Bryce and Southwest Utah

Zion–Mount Carmel Highway

UT 9 · Springdale → Mount Carmel Junction

Twisty25 mi1 hr4,700 ft climbHigh point ≈ 6,100 ftOne way
Scan to drive it in CarvePoint a phone's camera here. It opens ready to drive.
Drive it in Carve, free

Opens this route in the app, or where to get it.

Drive this road
in the appOpen

The drive

The Zion–Mount Carmel Highway is the road through the heart of Zion National Park. From Springdale, UT-9 climbs the Pine Creek switchbacks up the canyon wall, disappears into the 1.1-mile Zion–Mount Carmel Tunnel, and comes out in a different world: the pale, cross-hatched slickrock of the park's east side, around Checkerboard Mesa, on the way to Mount Carmel Junction.

It's driven east from Springdale, where most visitors stay, so the switchbacks are a climb and the slickrock country opens up after the tunnel. There are small pullouts on the east side worth stopping at; the rock here is as striking as anything in the main canyon.

Along the way

  1. Springdale
  2. Checkerboard Mesa
  3. Mount Carmel Junction (US-89)
Elevation
4,700 ft of climbing · high point ≈ 6,100 ft
SpringdaleMount Carmel Junction
Curves
Mostly gentle, with two twisty stretches
SpringdaleMount Carmel Junction
GentleHairpins

Good to know

  • There's a park entrance fee per vehicle, and non-US residents pay an extra fee.
  • Large vehicles can't use the tunnel at all: anything over 11 feet 4 inches tall, 7 feet 10 inches wide or 35 feet 9 inches long.
  • The tunnel occasionally closes overnight for work; check the park's road conditions before an early or late drive.

Open all year, weather permitting. Roads close for snow, fire, storms and repairs: before you set off, check National Park Service: Zion conditions.

What you get in the app

Turn by turn, on this roadSpoken directions along the exact route. Carve never reroutes you onto a faster one.
Preview it in 3DFly the whole drive over satellite and terrain before you go.
Drive it with no signalAPEXDownload the map and every turn before you go.
Live Group TrackingAPEXEveryone on the route, on the map, by name.
Road conditionsAPEXWet or dry, ice, fog and wind along the road before you go.
Record your drivesAPEXRecord a drive and turn it into a route to drive again or share.

Free on iPhone and Android. CarPlay and Android Auto come with Apex.

Download on theApp StoreEarly access onGoogle Play

More drives near here

All 34 drives in Utah ›

Distance, time, elevation, curves and intensity are from Carve's route. Checked 2026-10-28.

+ Plan a new route
Map of Zion–Mount Carmel Highway, from Springdale to Mount Carmel Junction