By GARY WARREN: Photographer Formerly of Los Alamos
When asked what my favorite place(s) of travel have been since we began our RV journey 10 years ago, the answer is southern Utah, followed by the Big Sur coast of California. It was a real treat for me to spend time on the West Coast and enjoy central California during our most recent travels. However, the “icing on the cake” was to spend a couple of days in southern Utah as we traveled home to Colorado.
A magical eleven-mile stretch of Utah Highway 9 is always a joy to drive through and we made this a part of our route back to Colorado. On this trip, the magical journey begins in Springdale, Utah and follows the highway to the east toward Mount Carmel.
Those first 11 miles beginning at Springdale twist and turn like a corkscrew as it takes you through the southern end of Zion National Park. This stretch is a part of the 54-mile-long Zion National Scenic Byway. Travelers are surrounded by the beauty of this journey as you leave Springdale and enter Zion National Park.
Stunning red rock canyon walls greet visitors as they enter Zion National Park, traveling toward the east. Zion Canyon is a magnificent canyon carved by the Virgin River over millions of years. One will pass the park’s visitor center and cross over the Virgin River on Hwy. 9 before beginning the ascension out of the canyon. The initial switchbacks lead visitors up almost 2,000 feet in elevation as it twists and turns around ancient rock formations. The beauty of the drive continues even beyond the eastern boundary of the national park.
There are several places to stop and exit your vehicle along the drive as you approach the Zion National Park East Entrance, which offer spectacular views of the amazing canyon and otherworldly rock formations. There are also trailheads along the route for those who wish to see the area up close via hiking trails.
Three points of interest along the red asphalt highway should not be missed:
The Great Arch is an arch cavity that can easily be seen from a viewpoint on Highway 9. The sandstone arch is almost 600 feet across and 400 feet high. If one wanted to get a closer view, the park’s Canyon Overlook Trail (one mile round trip) will give hikers a closer view.
The Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel is a 1.1-mile-long tunnel that leads one through the sandstone rock. The tunnel was built in the 1920s and took three years to complete, as there was limited equipment in that era suitable for the job. The tunnel is not lit other than several “windows” carved in the side of the tunnel to allow light to pass through. The windows also allowed for ventilation in the tunnel. The tunnel opened in 1930 and was the longest tunnel of its type in the country at that time. The tunnel was a “game changer” as it made access to Zion National Park much easier and shortened the drive between Zion and Bryce National Parks by 70 miles. The tunnel is an essential reason why Zion National Park is so popular today. The tunnel has been upgraded but it remains small for today’s cars and vehicles. There are restrictions on the size of vehicle allowed to pass through the tunnel.
The Checkerboard Mesa is a unique rock formation due to both vertical and horizontal markings, which create a cross-hatched pattern similar to a checkerboard. The vertical cracks have been created by the freezing and thawing cycles of the rock over the years, while the horizontal lines are a result of wind and water over millions of years.
There are other sandstone slick rock formations and other magnificent examples of the force of Mother Nature all along the drive. Much of the area features the pink and red Navajo Sandstone as well as white and creamy colored formations, all with a mixture of pine, piñon, and other foliage growing through cracks in the rocks.
Needless to say, Zion National Park is an amazing display of deep canyons, steep canyon walls and cliffs, rivers, wildlife, and many other features of nature, which are all stunning and unique. The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, otherwise known as the Zion National Scenic Byway, allows visitors to marvel at these vistas while passing through the area in their cars. It is an unforgettable drive.
We were fortunate to drive through the park in May while school was in session and the summer crowds (and traffic) were more tolerable. This area can be a challenge during the busy summer travel season.
When driving this highway, it is required that all vehicles pay for entrance to Zion National Park or have a National Parks Pass to enter.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.Checkerboard: A closer view of the Checkerboard Mesa in Zion National Park reveals the unique cross-hatched pattern on the surface of the rock. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com