2026 is shaping up to be a big year for Utah’s Zion National Park. The second-most-visited national park in the U.S., Zion has faced a number of hurdles as it attempts to provide a quality experience for its millions of annual visitors.
While park officials have reaffirmed their stance that they will not implement a timed entry system for the park, several other changes are on the way. One is the construction of the Zion Discovery Center near the East Zion entrance of the park. The second is a new vehicle restriction that will dramatically change traffic along the Zion-Mt. Carmel Scenic Highway.
Starting in the summer of 2026, oversized vehicles will be banned from Zion's scenic drive. The move comes after 10 years of studies, which confirm that the historic road simply cannot accommodate the massive RVs and trailers that exist today.
New Vehicle Restrictions For Zion-Mt. Carmel Scenic Highway Start This Summer
Zion National Park has three entrances:
South Entrance | Springdale, the park's most popular entrance |
East Entrance | Leads to Bryce Canyon National Park |
Kolob Canyon Entrance | Outside Cedar City, not connected to the rest of the park |
The South entrance and the East entrance are connected primarily by the Zion-Mt. Carmel Scenic Highway. This scenic route follows the canyon and includes a large tunnel. The road was constructed in the early 1900s when vehicles were generally slimmer.
The road, itself an engineering marvel, can't be expanded due to how it is situated in the canyon. It is also protected from major changes as a National Historical route. So, as vehicles have gotten wider and wider, the road has gotten more and more dangerous.
This challenge is particularly noticeable with oversized vehicles and your buses. With so many sharp turns along the road, these large vehicles cannot stay in their lane. Instead, rangers have to stop traffic in both directions and escort the large vehicle through individually. This has caused hours-long delays during peak months when hundreds of oversized vehicles are traveling the route on a given day.
With no room to expand and more visitors coming every year, the park has made the decision to ban the following vehicles from the highway altogether:
The move not only affects RVs, buses, and trailers, but also large trucks, such as dually trucks with four rear tires, as they exceed the new maximum width.
The act of closing the route for these oversized vehicles slows down free-flowing traffic by an average of 19 minutes per vehicle, according to two sets of studies by Zion National Park referenced in the park's announcement.
During the busy season, some hours saw only eight minutes of free-flowing traffic. The other 52 minutes were spent taking one oversized vehicle down the road at a time. One study also revealed there's an average of 41 minutes of blocked traffic per hour along the route.
By removing these vehicles, officials hope to maintain traffic flow along the Zion-Mt. Carmel Scenic Highway and improve the overall visitor experience.
How Visitors Are Reacting To Zion National Park's Road Ban
The announcement by Zion National Park to ban oversized vehicles from the scenic highway has been met with a mix of confusion and relief.
Before the ban, oversized vehicles could buy a permit pass, where they paid to have the 10.7-mile route closed in both directions for their vehicle. However, that permit system is going away with these new regulations. Some visitors expressed sadness that the option was being removed, forcing them to go around the park to reach the east side.
However, most commenters on the park's Instagram announcement have said the change “should have been made years ago.” Even park tour operators are praising the move, while acknowledging that it will make their business more complicated:
“As a tour guide.. this is terrible news for us, and enormous win for park preservation!”
Other commenters sought clarification on the measurements, with one person asking if they could “fold in their mirrors to make the width limit.” (This is a major safety hazard, so please don't plan to fold in mirrors to try to beat the system).
From joy to confusion to annoyance, there is no doubt Zion National Park's newest ban is getting a strong reaction. However, the change will undoubtedly improve traffic flow, limiting the interruptions along an already-busy highway. In a year of big changes, the 2026 vehicle ban may become Zion's biggest park adjustment of the year.
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