When we were staying in Kanab, UT, we kept seeing travel flyers for a tunnel called Belly of the Dragon. The Belly of the Dragon is a short but interesting-looking drainage tunnel that goes under Highway 89 near Mount Carmel Junction in Utah. After a quick research, it looked interesting but not enough for us to change our already packed schedule around. On our last day, our adventure to the was much shorter than we anticipated. This gave us plenty of time for another adventure. Since the Belly of the Dragon is only about 11 miles from the caves, we decided to go check it out.
When we were staying in Kanab, UT, we kept seeing travel flyers for a tunnel called Belly of the Dragon. The Belly of the Dragon is a short but interesting-looking drainage tunnel that goes under Highway 89 near Mount Carmel Junction in Utah. After a quick research, it looked interesting but not enough for us to change our already packed schedule around. On our last day, our adventure to the was much shorter than we anticipated. This gave us plenty of time for another adventure. Since the Belly of the Dragon is only about 11 miles from the caves, we decided to go check it out.
The access point to the Belly of the Dragon is less than one mile south of this junction. There is no sign that says “Belly of the Dragon” to let you know when you need to pull off the road. That said, there is a sign for the Twin Hollows Canyon Campground. Take that dirt road off the west side of Highway 89 and follow it for roughly 1,000 feet. There is a small dirt parking area, and along the rock wall underneath the highway above is the entrance to the Belly of the Dragon.
Hiking Belly of the Dragon is a fun, family-friendly adventure through a short, man-made tunnel resembling—well, you can probably guess from the name! Located between Orderville and Kanab, it was carved to serve as a drainage below Highway 89. Years of rainfall have carved the tunnel’s sandstone walls into stunning ripples for the whole family to explore.
Just one mile south of Mt. Carmel Junction and about 17 miles from Zion Ponderosa, hiking Belly of the Dragon is a quick and fun side trip during your Zion National Park vacation. This unique adventure is family-friendly. A five-foot rise at the entrance of the tunnel makes it a bit challenging for some to reach though it is still relatively accessible. The tunnel itself is only .5 miles there and back and only takes about 10 minutes to walk through, so make sure to enjoy yourself and explore.
There’s no elevation gain inside the tunnel but the floors are rocky and uneven after years of erosion, so walking this path requires some caution. We recommend bringing a flashlight or phone to guide your way if you are exploring this tunnel, especially before or after the early afternoon. You can extend this relatively easy adventure by hiking the 1.8-mile out and back trail, with just 183 feet in total elevation gain.
