Beginning in June 2026, Zion National Park will begin enforcing a far-reaching ban on large RVs and other oversized vehicles along its historic Zion Mount Carmel Highway after traffic studies revealed that tunnel escorts for big rigs were leaving drivers with less than 20 minutes of free-flowing traffic each hour on peak days.

The new rules will dramatically change how travelers in motorhomes and tour buses move through one of America’s most popular national parks and are already rippling through Utah’s tourism industry as visitors and businesses rethink routes, itineraries and even vehicle choices.

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New Restrictions Take Effect June 7, 2026

On June 7, 2026, Zion National Park will begin enforcing existing size and weight limits on the Zion Mount Carmel Highway between Canyon Junction and the East Entrance, effectively prohibiting many RVs and large tour coaches from using the road at all.

The 10.7 mile corridor, which includes the 1.1 mile Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel, connects Zion’s main canyon with Utah’s high desert plateau and serves as a key scenic link toward Bryce Canyon National Park and the North Rim of Grand Canyon.

Under the new rules, any vehicle that exceeds 35 feet 9 inches in length, 7 feet 10 inches in width, 11 feet 4 inches in height, or 50,000 pounds in weight will be barred from driving the highway segment.

Combined vehicles, such as trucks towing trailers or large fifth wheels, must also stay under 26 feet from hitch to rear axle and under 50 feet overall.

These measurements include add ons like roof boxes, air conditioning units and bike racks, which park officials warn can easily tip a marginal RV into the restricted category.

The June 2026 policy does not close Zion to RV travel altogether, but it does eliminate the long standing tunnel pass system that allowed oversized rigs to travel the route under ranger escort.

For decades, many RV owners regarded the tunnel transit as a highlight of a classic Southwest road trip.

After next summer, that experience will be off limits to the largest motorhomes and tour buses as the National Park Service pivots toward stricter enforcement focused on safety and historic preservation.

Studies Reveal Near Hour Long Delays From Tunnel Escorts

The new restrictions are the culmination of multiple safety and traffic studies dating back to 1989, as well as a comprehensive review in 2016 that examined just how much congestion the tunnel escort system was creating.

Because the nearly century old tunnel is too narrow to safely accommodate large vehicles alongside oncoming traffic, rangers have long closed it to one way traffic each time a big rig needed to pass down the center of the roadway.

On a typical day, rangers perform around 50 of these escorts, according to park officials, standing at both entrances of the tunnel to halt vehicles in one direction while an oversized RV or bus makes its slow, central lane passage.

The 2016 analysis found that on average, only about 19 minutes out of every hour were left for free flowing, two way traffic through the tunnel, with the busiest days dropping to as little as eight minutes.

In practical terms, that meant drivers on popular summer afternoons were enduring cumulative waits that approached or, at times, effectively matched nearly an hour of stop and go delays as queues grew on both sides of the tunnel.

Those findings reinforced what visitors had been experiencing anecdotally for years: lengthy backups snaking along the steep switchbacks to the tunnel portals, idling engines under blazing desert sun, and mounting frustration as rangers repeatedly halted traffic to shepherd one more oversized vehicle through.

As visitation to Zion surged past four million annual visitors, park managers concluded that continuing the escort program for ever larger RVs and coaches was neither sustainable nor compatible with the highway’s original design limits.

Why Zion Is Targeting Large RVs and Tour Buses

The decision to effectively ban many RVs and other large vehicles from the Zion Mount Carmel Highway is rooted in three intertwined concerns: road geometry, historic infrastructure and visitor safety.

Completed in 1930, the highway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and recognized as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Its narrow tunnels, tight curves and cliff hugging bridges were engineered for the compact cars and lighter trucks of the early automobile era, not for today’s multi slide motorhomes or 50 foot tour buses.

Federal Highway Administration validated studies have shown that single vehicles longer than 35 feet 9 inches or combined vehicles over 50 feet simply cannot reliably maintain their lane on certain segments of the route.

The sharp hairpin turns approaching the tunnel force the longest rigs to cross the centerline, creating a heightened risk of head on collisions or side scrapes with passing vehicles and rock walls. Weight is another critical factor.

Four of the highway’s historic bridges have load limits that can be exceeded by vehicles over 50,000 pounds, raising the risk of structural damage that could compromise the route entirely.

Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh and other park leaders emphasize that the new policy is not an anti RV stance, but rather a response to the mismatch between modern vehicle dimensions and a protected historic road.

In their view, continuing to thread ever larger vehicles through infrastructure never designed for them would eventually exact an unacceptable toll, both in terms of safety incidents and deterioration of the scenic highway that millions of visitors in standard vehicles still enjoy each year.

What the Ban Means for RV Travelers

For RV owners planning a visit after June 7, 2026, the new restrictions demand careful pre trip planning. Oversized rigs approaching Zion from the east on Utah State Route 9 will no longer be able to simply continue through the East Entrance and the tunnel toward Springdale and the South Entrance.

Instead, drivers of vehicles that violate any of the height, width, length or weight limits will have to reroute around the park using alternative highways, typically adding between 10 and 45 minutes of additional driving time depending on the chosen detour and traffic conditions.

Large RVs and tour buses are not entirely shut out of Zion. They will still be able to enter the park through the South Entrance at Springdale if certain conditions are met.

These include parking in the large vehicle lot near the Zion Canyon Visitor Center when space is available, holding reservations or passes for the historic Zion Lodge, staying at Watchman Campground or South Campground when open, or driving the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive during the shuttle off season when private vehicles are allowed.

Park rangers at entrance stations will be the first line of enforcement and are being equipped to measure borderline vehicles on the spot.

Smaller RVs, campervans and many travel trailers will still be permitted along the Zion Mount Carmel Highway as long as they fall below the specified size thresholds.

That means many Class B campervans, compact Class C motorhomes and shorter towable setups will retain access to the iconic tunnel drive and east west park crossing.

However, officials caution that it is the driver’s responsibility to verify exact vehicle dimensions including mirrors and rooftop attachments before arrival, as underestimating height or length could result in being turned around at the gate.

Impact on Local Tourism and Regional Routes

The Zion Mount Carmel Highway has long served not only as a scenic drive but also as a functional shortcut linking popular tourism hubs across southern Utah and northern Arizona.

Tour operators based in Las Vegas, Page, Kanab and St. George have built itineraries around the ability to move buses and RV caravans through Zion’s east side and out toward Bryce Canyon or the North Rim without long detours.

The new restrictions will require many of those operators to redesign their routes and timeframes.

For individual travelers in large RVs hoping to string together a loop that includes Zion, Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon, trip planning will become more complex.

Instead of passing directly through Zion from east to west or vice versa, oversized rigs may need to approach the park from one side, base camp outside the South Entrance, and rely on shuttles, smaller towed vehicles, or guided tours to explore the interior canyon.

Some visitors may elect to park their RV in nearby Springdale or along Highway 89 and rent a smaller vehicle for the Zion portion of their trip.

Local communities are already preparing for the shift. Towns such as Kanab, Hurricane and Orderville, located along key alternate routes, are likely to see more passing RV traffic as drivers bypass the Zion tunnel.

Tourism boards and chambers of commerce are promoting alternate scenic drives, pullouts and viewpoints beyond the park boundary to help capture some of the business that might once have flowed directly through the Zion corridor.

Park managers, meanwhile, hope that reducing large vehicle congestion on the highway will improve the experience for the majority of visitors traveling in regular passenger vehicles or small campers.

How Enforcement Will Work on the Ground

Beginning in summer 2026, Zion’s primary enforcement point for the large vehicle restrictions will be its entrance stations.

Fee rangers at the South and East Entrances are being trained to visually assess incoming vehicles for potential size issues and will carry measuring tools to verify dimensions when necessary.

If a vehicle is clearly above the threshold or proves too large once measured, rangers will direct the driver to turn around before they reach the Zion Mount Carmel Highway or tunnel approaches.

The park is also in the process of acquiring lidar based measuring systems for the south entrance that will allow for quick, contactless scanning of vehicle dimensions.

In the first season, law enforcement rangers may be stationed at Canyon Junction as a secondary checkpoint and to help manage any drivers who nonetheless find their way onto the restricted segment.

Officials say they anticipate a learning curve in the first months of enforcement as word of the policy change spreads and repeat visitors adjust to the new rules.

Unlike the long standing tunnel pass program, there will no longer be ranger escorts through the tunnel for oversize vehicles.

Eliminating the escort system will free staff from spending hours each day manually controlling one way traffic and will allow them to be redeployed to resource protection, visitor services and safety patrols in other parts of the park.

For drivers in compliant vehicles, the expectation is that traffic through the tunnel will move more steadily with far fewer abrupt stops tied to RV convoys.

Planning Tips for 2026 Zion Trips

Travelers planning a Zion visit in late 2025 or beyond 2026 are being urged to start factoring the new rules into their itineraries now, particularly if they have reservations for popular campgrounds or lodges that book out months in advance.

The National Park Service recommends that RV owners locate their vehicle’s official height, width, length and weight specifications and compare them carefully to the published limits.

When in doubt, it may be wise to choose a smaller rental or travel with a compact tow vehicle that can handle the park’s narrow roads while the main RV stays at a nearby base camp.

Mapping out alternate routes will also be essential. For example, a driver coming from Page or Kanab with a large Class A motorhome headed toward Las Vegas or St. George may opt to stay on U.S. 89 and connect via state highways that loop around the park, rather than attempting to enter at Zion’s East Entrance.

Though these detours may add up to 45 minutes of driving, they avoid the possibility of being turned away at the gate and offer their own red rock scenery and small town stops along the way.

Visitors intent on crossing the Zion Mount Carmel Highway in a vehicle that meets the new standards should build extra time into their schedules as the park works through the first season of enforcement and traffic patterns adjust.

Arriving early in the day, especially during peak months, can help reduce wait times at the tunnel and improve the odds of finding parking at trailheads and overlooks.

For many, the simplest solution may be to embrace Zion’s extensive shuttle system, leave the car or RV parked and let the buses handle the canyon’s constrained roads.

FAQ

Q1: Are all RVs banned from Zion National Park starting in 2026?
RVs are not banned from Zion National Park itself, but many larger RVs will be prohibited from driving the Zion Mount Carmel Highway between Canyon Junction and the East Entrance starting June 7, 2026. Oversized rigs can still enter through the South Entrance under certain conditions, park in designated lots, and stay at campgrounds that can accommodate them.

Q2: What exact vehicle sizes are not allowed on the Zion Mount Carmel Highway after June 7, 2026?
Vehicles will be barred from the highway segment if they are longer than 35 feet 9 inches, wider than 7 feet 10 inches, taller than 11 feet 4 inches, or heavier than 50,000 pounds. Combined vehicles must also stay under 26 feet from hitch to rear axle and under 50 feet total length.

Q3: Why is Zion National Park making this change now?
The change follows decades of safety and engineering studies showing that oversized vehicles struggle to stay within their lane on the highway’s tight curves, exceed weight limits on historic bridges, and create significant congestion when escorted through the narrow tunnel. Rising visitation has amplified those problems to the point where managers determined stricter enforcement was necessary.

Q4: How bad were the traffic delays caused by RV escorts through the tunnel?
Traffic analyses found that, under the escort system, there were only about 19 minutes of free flowing tunnel traffic per hour on average, with the busiest days dropping to roughly eight minutes. Continuous closures for one way escorts meant drivers often faced long queues and cumulative delays that could approach nearly an hour during peak periods.

Q5: Can smaller campervans and short trailers still use the Zion Mount Carmel Highway?
Yes, many smaller RVs, campervans and short travel trailers that fall below the specified height, width, length and weight thresholds will still be allowed on the highway and through the tunnel. Drivers need to confirm their exact vehicle dimensions, including accessories, to ensure they remain within the approved limits.

Q6: If my RV is too large, how can I still visit Zion?
If your RV exceeds the limits, you can approach the park from the South Entrance, park in the large vehicle lot near the visitor center when available, stay in campgrounds that accept large rigs, or overnight in nearby towns and use shuttles, smaller towed vehicles or guided tours to explore the main canyon. You will need to use alternate highways around the park instead of driving the Zion Mount Carmel Highway.

Q7: Will I still have to buy a tunnel pass or pay a special fee for my RV?
No, the long running tunnel pass and escort system for oversized vehicles will be discontinued once the new restrictions take effect. Drivers of compliant vehicles will pay only the standard park entrance fees, while vehicles that exceed the limits will simply not be permitted on the Zion Mount Carmel Highway.

Q8: How will rangers know if my vehicle is too big?
Entrance station staff are being trained to visually identify potentially oversized vehicles and will carry measuring tools to check dimensions when needed. The park is also adding lidar based systems to automatically measure heights and lengths at the South Entrance. If your vehicle is over the limit, you will be turned around before reaching the restricted highway segment.

Q9: How much extra drive time will alternate routes add for large RVs?
Park officials estimate that using detour routes around Zion instead of crossing via the Zion Mount Carmel Highway will add roughly 10 to 45 minutes of additional driving, depending on where you start and where you are headed. The exact impact will vary with traffic, weather and the specific highways you choose.

Q10: Should I change my 2026 Southwest road trip plans because of the RV restrictions?
You may not need to cancel or drastically change your trip, but you should review your vehicle’s dimensions, map out alternate routes that do not rely on the Zion tunnel crossing, and consider whether using a smaller rental, towed car or shuttle system within Zion makes sense. Adjusting your itinerary now can help avoid surprises at the gate once the new rules are in place.