Drive guide
Eighty-five miles, three climbs and one tunnel that turns some vehicles around. Here is the road, mile by mile, with cameras on it.
Pulled from the National Park Service for Zion and Bryce Canyon, narrowed to the alerts that affect driving between them. Full conditions live on the Zion conditions page and the Bryce Canyon conditions page.
Every line here is real road geometry rather than a sketch, and every pin carries the note we would give you at the front desk. The dotted spur running west from Long Valley Junction is Highway 14 up onto the plateau, which matters only if you are stopping.
The interactive map needs JavaScript. The route is SR-9 east through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, US-89 north from Mount Carmel Junction, Scenic Byway 12 east through Red Canyon, then SR-63 south into the park.
People are surprised by the cold at Bryce, and the profile explains it better than any sentence can. You do not simply drive from one park to another; you climb 3,964 feet in three separate pushes, and the highest ground of the entire day is the last mile of it. Zion's canyon floor sits at 3,930 feet. The Bryce rim is at 7,894.
Out of the visitor center, east at Canyon Junction, and straight into six switchbacks that climb 1,400 feet off the canyon floor. Low gear both directions. There is nowhere to stop on the corners, so save the photograph for the top.
Slowest six miles of the day. Budget 20 minutes.
The 1.1-mile tunnel runs dark and unlit with a handful of gallery windows you are not allowed to stop at. Beyond it the rock turns to slickrock domes and Checkerboard Mesa, and the East Entrance station is at mile 11.4.
Canyon Overlook Trailhead is immediately east of the tunnel and its lot is tiny.
Out of the park the road drops through ranch country to meet US-89 at mile 24.5. Turn left, north. This is the last junction of any size before a long quiet stretch, so deal with fuel and food here rather than after.
Through Orderville and Glendale, then a steady 14-mile climb to Long Valley Junction at 7,460 feet, the high point of the US-89 leg. SR-14 comes in from the west here, which is the turn for Duck Creek Village and Cedar City.
Mile 47 of 85, and the halfway mark in effort if not in distance.
The road eases downhill along the Sevier River through open valley to Hatch, then on to the junction with Scenic Byway 12 at mile 67.2. Miss the right turn and you carry on to Panguitch.
The lowest ground of the second half, at 6,745 feet.
Byway 12 climbs into Red Canyon, where the hoodoos start a full 14 miles before you reach the fee booth, and threads two arches blasted through a fin of red rock. South on SR-63 at the roundabout and you are at the visitor center.
The Forest Service visitor center in Red Canyon is free and has water and restrooms.
Mileposts are measured from Zion Canyon Visitor Center along the traced route. Elevations are USGS 3DEP samples except at Bryce, where the figure is the one the Park Service publishes.
| Mile | Landmark | Elevation |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Zion Canyon Visitor Center The start clock for this drive. If you are coming off the shuttle, add the wait: the line at Temple of Sinawava can run 30 minutes on a summer afternoon before you reach your car. | 3,930 ft |
| 1.6 | Canyon Junction Turn east here and the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway begins. This is the last flat mile before the switchbacks. | 4,040 ft |
| 3.6 | The switchbacks Six tight hairpins climbing the canyon wall. Low gear going up, low gear coming down. There is no pullout on the corners, so take the pictures at the top. | 4,580 ft |
| 5.6 | Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel The 1.1-mile tunnel, cut in 1927-1930. Oversize vehicles need traffic control and cannot pass each other inside, which is why this is the one section that can add half an hour to your day. | 5,363 ft |
| 6.1 | Canyon Overlook Trailhead Immediately east of the tunnel. A 1-mile round trip to the best view you can earn in an hour on this drive, but the lot is tiny and fills by mid-morning. | 5,130 ft |
| 10.9 | Checkerboard Mesa The cross-hatched dome on the north side, with a signed pullout. Wind carved the horizontal lines and freeze-thaw cracked the vertical ones. | 6,560 ft |
| 11.4 | Zion East Entrance Leaving the park. Going the other way this booth is usually far quicker than the south entrance at Springdale. | 5,690 ft |
| 24.5 | Mount Carmel Junction SR-9 ends at US-89. Turn left, north. This is the last junction of any size for a while: 22 miles on to Long Valley Junction and 43 to the Byway 12 turnoff, so sort out fuel and food around here rather than after. | 5,200 ft |
| 28.9 | Orderville A strip of highway town in the bottom of Long Valley. The speed limit drops hard and it is enforced, which is the only thing most people remember about it. | 5,433 ft |
| 33.3 | Glendale The last town before the long climb up Long Valley. After this the road just goes uphill for fourteen miles. | 5,807 ft |
| 47 | Long Valley Junction The high point of the US-89 stretch, and the SR-14 turnoff west toward Duck Creek Village and Cedar City. No services at the junction itself. | 7,460 ft |
| 59.9 | Hatch US-89 milepost 114.4, and the first town since Glendale 27 miles back. A small place in an open river valley, and the last one before you turn onto Byway 12. | 6,943 ft |
| 67.2 | US-89 and Scenic Byway 12 Turn right off US-89 onto Scenic Byway 12. Miss this and you are headed for Panguitch. The low point of the second half is right here. | 6,745 ft |
| 71 | Red Canyon Visitor Center Dixie National Forest, no fee, flush toilets and drinking water, and the orange hoodoos start here rather than at Bryce. The Pink Ledges and Hoodoo trails leave straight from the lot. Most people drive past it and should not. | 7,100 ft |
| 72.3 | Red Canyon arches Two short arches cut through the red rock, one for each direction. They are photogenic and there is nowhere safe to stop, so have the camera ready as a passenger. | 7,378 ft |
| 81.1 | SR-12 and SR-63 Turn south onto SR-63 at the roundabout for the park. Bryce Canyon City, the shuttle stop and most of the lodging sit in the next mile. | 7,611 ft |
| 85 | Bryce Canyon Visitor Center The end, and the highest point of the drive. You are now 3,969 feet above where you started, which is why it can be snowing here and sunny in Zion. | 7,894 ft |
Distances and times are traced along the real roads, not estimated. Drive times are at posted speeds with no stops, so treat them as the floor rather than the plan.
SR-9, US-89, Scenic Byway 12, SR-63
Take this one unless something below applies to you.
Through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel and north up Long Valley. It is the shortest, the most scenic and the one every map app will give you.
The direct route, plus 11 miles of SR-14 each way
Costs 22.5 miles and about 36 minutes.
Turn west at Long Valley Junction and you climb onto the Markagunt Plateau at 8,400 ft, through aspen and lava country. Worth it if you are stopping for the night or want lunch somewhere cooler than the desert.
SR-9 west, I-15 north, SR-20 east, US-89, Byway 12
Costs 66.6 miles and about an hour.
The only option if your vehicle cannot go through the tunnel at all. You leave Zion the way you came in, run the interstate north, and come back east over SR-20.
The Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel was cut between 1927 and 1930, runs 1.1 miles, and is the one thing on this drive that can stop you outright. If you are in a car, an SUV, a pickup or a van, none of this applies: you drive through and think about it only as a dark mile with a few windows. If you are in anything larger, read carefully, because the rules changed in 2026 and a lot of what is written online is now wrong.
If your vehicle is over the limits, the way round is SR-9 west out of Springdale, I-15 north, and SR-20 east to US-89. It is 151.6 miles against 85, but only about an hour longer in practice, because you trade 25 mph switchbacks for interstate. The Park Service recommends exactly this detour. What you should not do is let a navigation app route you over SR-14 or SR-143 instead: UDOT warns against both for large vehicles, and those are mountain roads with steep grades and sharp curves.
The interactive map needs JavaScript. The route is SR-9 east through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, US-89 north from Mount Carmel Junction, Scenic Byway 12 east through Red Canyon, then SR-63 south into the park.
The full set of tunnel rules, entrance-station detail and what to expect at the East Entrance lives on our Zion East Entrance guide.
Six UDOT cameras sit on this route, plus one out at Duck Creek on the mountain alternative. They are listed in the order you reach them, with the milepost measured along the same traced route as the map above. Images refresh every two minutes.
One blind stretch, and it is worth knowing about. Between the Zion east-side camera and Long Valley Junction there is nothing for about 33 miles, which covers Mount Carmel Junction, Orderville and Glendale. There is also no camera inside Zion, at the tunnel, or at Mount Carmel Junction itself, so nobody can show you the tunnel approach in real time.
This camera is offline right now.
Two and a half miles east of the East Entrance, and the only camera anywhere near the tunnel. Ice here means the switchbacks are worse.
This camera is offline right now.
The high point of the US-89 leg at 7,460 ft, and the SR-14 turnoff. First place on the drive where the weather turns.
This camera is offline right now.
Eleven miles west of the junction at 8,400 ft. Worth a look before you commit to the mountain detour.
This camera is offline right now.
The Sevier River valley: open, exposed, and the stretch that drifts shut first in a blow.
This camera is offline right now.
Your turn onto Scenic Byway 12. If this one is clear, the last 18 miles usually are too.
This camera is offline right now.
The red rock narrows and the two arches. Shaded, and it holds ice long after the valley has dried out.
This camera is offline right now.
The park doorstep at 7,600 ft. What you see here is what you are walking into at the rim.
Camera images courtesy of the Utah Department of Transportation. For closures and restrictions before you leave, check udottraffic.utah.gov .
We should be straight about this, because the internet usually is not. Duck Creek Village Inn is not on this route. You pass the turning, not the front door: Highway 14 leaves US-89 at Long Valley Junction, mile 47 of 85, and we are 11.1 miles west of that junction at 8,455 feet.
Measured properly, breaking the drive here costs 22.5 miles and about 36 minutes against driving it straight through. That is the honest number, and for a lot of people it is not worth it. It becomes worth it when you are doing both parks rather than passing through once, because from here Zion is roughly an hour one way and Bryce roughly an hour the other, and you stop moving hotels every night. It also gets you out of the desert heat, which in July is not a small thing.
Lodging between the two parks Which park to give the better day
The questions we answer at the front desk most often about this drive.
It is 85 miles from Zion Canyon Visitor Center to Bryce Canyon Visitor Center, traced along the real roads: SR-9 east through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, US-89 north from Mount Carmel Junction, Scenic Byway 12 east, then SR-63 south. If you start from Zion's East Entrance instead, knock 11 miles off.
About 2 hours 15 minutes moving, and that assumes nothing goes wrong. The first six miles out of Zion Canyon are switchbacks where you will not exceed 25 mph, and the tunnel can hold you up. Most people should budget three hours with one stop, or half a day if they want to walk at Red Canyon on the way.
The direct one, through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel and north on US-89, unless your vehicle is too large for the tunnel. It is the shortest, the most scenic and it takes you past Checkerboard Mesa and through Red Canyon. There is no faster alternative and no more beautiful one.
Only if it fits. Since 7 June 2026, vehicles over 11'4" tall, 7'10" wide (mirrors included) or 35'9" long, and combinations over 50' total, are prohibited from the entire Zion-Mount Carmel Highway. The old paid-escort option no longer exists. Oversize rigs go around by SR-9 west, I-15 north and SR-20 east, which is 151.6 miles instead of 85. Do not let a navigation app send a large vehicle over SR-14 or SR-143 instead; UDOT specifically warns against it.
Not seasonally. US-89, Scenic Byway 12, SR-14 and SR-143 all stay open through the winter and none of them appear on UDOT's seasonal-closure list. Storms close sections temporarily while plows work, and Bryce keeps its road shut until it is cleared after heavy snow. The only road in this corner that does gate for the season is SR-148 through Cedar Breaks, typically mid-November to mid-May, and it is not on this route.
Three things. Canyon Overlook, a one-mile round trip immediately east of the tunnel for the best view you can earn in an hour. Checkerboard Mesa at mile 10.9, which has a signed pullout. And Red Canyon on Byway 12, where the hoodoos start 14 miles before the park boundary, the Forest Service visitor center is free, and the two rock arches over the road are the photograph most people did not know was coming.
You can do it in a morning. Whether you should depends on what else you want from the trip: doing both parks from a single base means the drive happens twice, so a lot of people split the difference and stay on the plateau in the middle. Duck Creek Village sits 11.1 miles west of Long Valley Junction on SR-14, which is a 22.5-mile detour off this route.
17 September 2026
Distances and drive times on this page were traced along the real roads with OpenStreetMap routing on 17 September 2026, and elevations sampled from the USGS 3DEP national elevation dataset along that same line. Tunnel restrictions, entrance fees and closure policy come from the National Park Service and the Utah Department of Transportation, checked the same day. Where a fact could not be confirmed from a primary source, we have left it out rather than repeat it.
Start from the broader guide hub for the full set of destinations and planning pages.
The park guides at each end of this drive, and the road conditions page behind the cameras.
Classic canyon country, about an hour from Duck Creek Village
View guide
Hoodoos and high desert scenery, about an hour away
View guide
Why the quieter east side is the best way in from Duck Creek Village
See east entrance
Live SR-14 cameras, current mountain weather, and closure detours before you drive up.
See pageDeciding which park to give the better day to, or where to sleep between them.
Rooms and cabins on the plateau between the two parks.
Eleven miles off US-89 at 8,455 feet, with Zion about an hour one way and Bryce about an hour the other.
