The East Side: Driving the 1930 Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel & Hiking the Canyon Overlook Trail

Unlike the main Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, Utah State Route 9, the historic 1930 Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, is open to private cars all year round. Branching east at Canyon Junction (Shuttle Stop #3), it climbs 240 vertical metres up six hairline switchbacks on the walls of Pine Creek Canyon, bores through a 1.8-kilometre (1.1-mile) tunnel carved inside a solid sandstone cliff, and emerges into the slickrock landscape of East Zion.

1. The Best Short Hike in Zion: 'Canyon Overlook Trail' (1.6 km Round-Trip, 45 to 60 Mins)

If you want a high-elevation view looking straight down into Zion Canyon without climbing 450 vertical metres up Angels Landing (since the highway and tunnel just drove you up 240 vertical metres), stop at the Canyon Overlook Trailhead immediately outside the Eastern Portal of the 1.8 km Tunnel.

• Parking Tip at the East Portal: if the small 9-car car park on the right outside the east tunnel exit is full, drive 150 metres further east and use the larger triangular paved pull-out on the left.
• What the 1-Mile Trail Is Like: climb the stone steps beside the ranger booth onto a railed sandstone shelf above Pine Creek Narrows, walk through a fern-lined cave alcove, and step onto a railed sandstone viewpoint looking straight down on the six highway switchbacks, Pine Creek slot canyon, the East Temple and the 2,380-metre West Temple (no permit required).

2. Exploring 'East Zion' & Checkerboard Mesa

The 10 kilometres of petrified sand dunes between the Tunnel and the East Entrance Station have no shuttle buses and far fewer visitors than the main canyon. Pull over at roadside turnouts to scramble across cross-bedded Navajo Sandstone slickrock (watching for Desert Bighorn Sheep), walk up the wash of Many Pools after spring rains, and photograph the grid-etched white cone of Checkerboard Mesa before continuing toward Bryce Canyon. Large RVs or trailers over 11'4" tall or 7'10" wide require a ranger tunnel traffic control permit at the entrance station.