Zion – Mount Carmel Highway
The Zion – Mount Carmel Highway is a 25-mile (40 km) long road in Washington and Kane counties in southern Utah, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
The east portal of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, September 1929
West end of the Pine Creek Bridge and the east portal of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, c. 2006
A horseback party at the western entrance to the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, September 1929. The tunnel shortened the distance from Zion National Park to Bryce Canyon National Park by 70 miles (110 km).
State Route 9 (SR-9) is a 57.075-mile-long (91.853 km) state highway in southern Utah, serving Zion National Park. It starts at the western terminus at exit 16 on Interstate 15 (I-15), passing through Zion National Park, and ending at the eastern junction with U.S. Route 89 (US-89). The entire length of the highway has been designated the Zion Park Scenic Byway. There is a fee to travel through Zion National Park, but the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway is open to private vehicles year-round. A separate fee is required for vehicles 7'10" wide and/or 11'4" tall or larger. This fee pays for a park employee to stop traffic from the other side of the Zion - Mt. Carmel Tunnel to allow the larger vehicles to pass through.
There is a smaller tunnel in Zion National Park that does not require an escort. Commercial vehicles are prohibited from using SR-9 and are directed to use SR-20 instead.
The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway.
Scenic SR-9 on the west side of Zion National Park
State Route 9 near Canyon Overlook trailhead
SR-9 between Zion National Park and Mount Carmel