trails, as marvelous roadside scenery gives exciting intimations of even more incredible scenery in the backcountry.
Utah Highway 9 transects the Park, roughly east to west, and it is the primary Park road. Other roads—the Kolob Terrace Road, the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, and the North Fork Road—branch off Utah 9 and bisect magnificent country while passing numerous trailheads. The Kolob Canyons Section of the Park is accessed from Interstate 15 between St. George and Cedar City, Utah. Driving directions below for trailheads in Zion follow Utah 9 from west to east. Hikers traveling westbound on that highway should reverse these directions to pinpoint Utah 9 trailheads.
The Zion Canyon Transportation System
To alleviate congestion and gridlock in Zion Canyon during the season of peak use, the Zion Canyon Transportation System was implemented in the spring of 2000. The 7-mile-long Zion Canyon Scenic Drive from the Utah Highway 9 at Canyon Junction to Temple of Sinawava will be closed to private vehicles from mid-May through October each year. The Scenic Drive is open to private vehicles during the remainder of the year.
Between mid-May and October, the first half of the Scenic Drive from Canyon Junction to Zion Lodge will be open only to hikers, bicyclists, shuttle vehicles, private vehicles of overnight lodge guests, and Zion Lodge tour busses. From the lodge to the road’s end at Temple of Sinawava, use will be restricted to hikers, bicyclists, and shuttle busses. Shuttle busses will offer access to the following stops on the Scenic Drive: Canyon Junction, Court of the Patriarchs, Zion Lodge, Grotto Picnic Area, Weeping Rock, Big Bend, and Temple of Sinawava.
Visitors staying in or near Springdale can access the shuttle busses at several developed shuttle stops. Park visitors can access the shuttle system from the Visitor Center/Transit Center adjacent to Watchman Campground. Contact Zion National Park for more information.)
Utah Highway 9 trailheads for Trips 1, 2, 12, and 13
If you are traveling from the south via Interstate 15, take the Utah Highway 9 exit, 10 miles north of St. George, which is signed for Zion National Park, and proceed 11 miles through the town of Hurricane to La Verkin. From the north, take the Toquerville exit off Interstate 15 and drive southeast on Utah 17 for 6 miles to La Verkin and the junction with Utah 9.
(0.0) Drive east from La Verkin on Utah Highway 9. Beyond the small town of Virgin, a paved road (6.1) branches north at the east end of the town, signed for Kolob Reservoir. Hikers bound for Trips 17–21 should refer to the road log below (Kolob Terrace Road).
Beyond Virgin the road stays north of the Virgin River while following its canyon upstream, passing lush green hayfields and stock pastures.
(6.5; 12.6) The highway bridges usually dry Coalpits Wash. Just east of the bridge, a dirt road leaves the north side of the highway and descends to a camping area next to the wash. A hikers’ gate through the fence here offers hiking access into the wash and an alternative route to the Petrified Forest area (see Trip 1).
(1.2; 13.8) The highway bridges the dry course of Huber Wash. A large pulloff just before the bridge offers parking for a crosscountry hike up that wash. The Chinle Trail (Trip 1) crosses the wash 2 miles upstream.
(1.7; 15.5) Leave the east end of Rockville at milepost 28.
(0.9; 16.4) A paved, northbound road, signed ANASAZI PLATEAU ESTATES, branches left from the highway. Hikers bound for Trip 1 should turn left (north) onto the steeply rising road. After 0.1 mile, at the first switchback in the road, turn right and proceed several hundred yards to the spacious parking area at Trailhead 1 where Trip 1 begins.
Almost immediately beyond that turnoff we pass a large turnout on the north side of the highway, then curve northeast, entering Zion Canyon. Parunuweap Canyon, a deep gorge through which flows the Virgin River’s East Fork, is a deep, gaping chasm, approaching the proportions of Zion Canyon. That canyon is closed to entry.
The road stays west of North Fork Virgin River as we proceed into incomparable Zion Canyon.
(2.2; 18.6) Entering scenic Springdale, a small town wedged between the towering cliffs of Mount Kinesava and The Watchman. A variety of services are available to meet the needs of most Park visitors, but hiking and backpacking supplies are limited. Scattered homes line the remaining distance to
(1.3; 19.9) the Park boundary and the Park’s South Entrance Station. An entry fee is collected here, good for access to the Park for seven consecutive days. We immediately pass the entrance to Watchman Campground and the Visitor Center on our right.
To reach the Watchman Trail we turn right (east) at that junction, bridge the North Fork Virgin River, and soon come to the spacious parking lot at the Visitor Center (0.2; 20.1) where hikers taking Trip 2 park at Trailhead 2.
(0.8; 20.7) The Zion Museum turnoff lies on the west side of the highway. Up-canyon beyond the museum, the road soon turns abruptly east, bridges the North Fork, and meets
(0.0; 21.6) northbound Zion Canyon Scenic Drive at Canyon Junction. Hikers bound for Trips 3 through 11 will turn left here, driving their own vehicles from November through mid-May, and riding the shuttle bus between mid-May and the end of October, and refer to the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive road log below, while the rest follow Highway 9 into Pine Creek canyon. The road climbs at once into the lower reaches of the canyon before switchbacking up its north-facing slope.
(3.4; 25.0) Enter the mountain at the mouth of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel. The 1.1-mile-long tunnel, completed in 1930, was an engineering feat of grand proportions. It finally linked the communities along the lower Virgin River with the isolated upper Virgin River and Sevier River valley communities in south-central Utah. On our way through the lighted tunnel, we pass five galleries in which earlier travelers could stop and view the magnificent scenery on the “outside.”
Checkerboard Mesa, seen from Highway 9
(1.1; 26.1) Immediately beyond the tunnel a spacious parking area on the roadway’s southeast side offers parking for Trip 12 hikers at Trailhead 9. Beyond the tunnel it seems as if we had entered another world. The red pavement winds eastward, following above the typically dry course of Clear Creek, a Pine Creek tributary.
(1.4; 27.5) After a few minutes of driving, we pass through a second, much shorter tunnel. The entire area traversed by the highway is excellent for short exploratory hikes into any of the northwest- and southeast-trending branch canyons. Numerous turnouts along the way make good starting points for such forays, and some of them have interpretive signs explaining various aspects of the landscape.
(3.5; 31.0) A northwest-bound paved spur road, signed for RANGER RESIDENCE and TRAILHEAD, leaves the highway here and climbs 300 yards to Trailhead 10, where Trip 13 begins. The pinyon- and juniper-shaded parking area has space for approximately 10 cars. Westbound drivers will find the trailhead turnoff 14.5 miles from Mt. Carmel Junction.
