Zion Scenic Byway
Zion Scenic Byway is a National Scenic Byway in Utah. Within Utah it covers roughly 9 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Zion Scenic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Utah's Zion Scenic Byway follows State Route 9 for 54 miles from La Verkin to Zion National Park's east entrance. It traces the Virgin River through Hurricane, Virgin, Rockville, and Springdale before climbing into the park. Near Rockville, a short detour leads to Grafton, a well-preserved ghost town used as a filming location for 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.' The road into Zion dates to 1916, when a branch was added to the state highway system already running through Hurricane and La Verkin since 1912; it was extended east to Mt. Carmel Junction in 1923. The route's centerpiece, the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, opened in 1930 after three years of construction and just under $1.9 million, an enormous sum at the time for a mile-plus bore through solid sandstone. Renumbered from SR-15 to SR-9 in 1977 after Interstate 15 claimed that number, the byway now carries most visitor traffic into one of Utah's busiest national parks, winding beneath the same towering cliffs the road was built to reach.
- Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel
- Grafton ghost town
- 54 miles
- Virgin River
- Springdale
- 1930 tunnel construction
- State Route 9
Plan a drive on Zion Scenic Byway →
What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.
Where to Stay along Zion Scenic Byway
2 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Zion Scenic Byway.
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