We traveled to Zion National Park this week end in Utah. Zion is one of our all time favorite places to visit. Normally when we go to Zion we follow the road to the left(Valley Dr./Zion Canyon Scenic Drive toward the narrows, but this time we took the right fork(Zion-Mount Carmel Highway-Route 9) and let me tell you it was pretty awesome!
During part of the year in order to see anything on the left fork of Zion National Park you have to park at the visitors center and take the shuttle to any of the trails you would like to go on.
Shuttles run from March to December. A ticket is required to get on the shuttle. Tickets cost $1 USD and are good to ride the shuttle as many times as you want all day. Tickets can be purchased on www.recreation.gov. With all of the COVID restrictions right now and the lack of other types of travel national parks fill up fast and pretty early in the morning. Needless to say it can be difficult to get in.
If you take the right fork you do not need to park and take the shuttle. You can just drive your personal vehicle. If this is your first trip to Zion I would definitely NOT miss the left fork. This is where you will find all of the most famous hikes and landmarks in Zion National Park. If you happen to have a free afternoon though I would recommend taking the right fork(Zion-Mount Carmel Highway). There are trails and overlooks on this side of Zion, such as Checkerboard Mesa, and you can drive through and back in around an hour if you don't stop to hike around(though I would suggest taking an afternoon and exploring)!
One other thing that is super cool and unique is the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel. It goes straight through the mountain and it is a mile long! It is super cool to drive through and it has a pretty cool history. It was one of the projects that the government had in order to give people jobs after the Great Depression
The Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel
Construction of the 1.1 mile Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel began in the late 1920's and was completed in 1930. At the time that the tunnel was dedicated, on July 4, 1930, it was the longest tunnel of its type in the United States. The purpose of the building the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel (and the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway) was to create direct access to Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon from Zion National Park.
Something else to note is that if you are planning on taking a larger vehicle through the tunnel, this will require 1 way traffic control. Meaning they stop traffic going the opposite directions so larger vehicles can go through the tunnel because it is not wide enough on the turns to not cross over the center line. Over sized vehicles must have a permit which costs $15.00 USD. To learn more about the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel.
