Why Zion National Park Is Banning RVs From Its Main Highway Starting In 2026

If you are looking for a great summer road trip destination, then Utah is a great choice. Within this gorgeous state, you will have the chance to see five different national parks: Bryce Canyon, Arches, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Zion. If you plan to visit all or some of Utah's national parks in an RV, then you should know that Zion — which is a bucket list national park in its own right — has updated its rules concerning which roads RVs can use. In fact, the National Park Service has announced that starting in 2026, vehicles that are longer than 35 feet nine inches, wider than seven feet 10 inches, or taller than 11 feet four inches (which includes most motorhomes but may exclude some pop-up campers) are not permitted to drive along the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway into the East Entrance of Zion National Park.

The reason for this is that the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, which is popular for its scenery and views of the national park, is a thin road that includes lots of tight turns that force larger vehicles to cross the centerline. Furthermore, this highway includes the famous but narrow Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel that was completed in the year 1930 with the much smaller cars of that era in mind. As it stands, RVs that travel through this tunnel require a special park escort that turns the tunnel into a one-way road to allow the larger vehicles to pass. Because Zion is a very busy national park and the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel is a must-see spot in the park, this procedure occurs around 50 times a day, stopping traffic on the other side of the tunnel each time. So, in order to prevent constant traffic jams and make the road safer, the NPS has decided to no longer allow larger vehicles to drive on the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway.

When the new rules come into effect in mid-2026, RV drivers will still be able to access Zion National Park but they will be required to enter through one of the other entrances as the East Entrance will be off-limits. Luckily, that's not too big of a problem because Zion has a total of three main entrances. So, instead of taking the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway to the East Entrance, RVs can head to the more popular South Entrance. The South Entrance is often considered the main entrance to Zion and has a large Visitors Center, as well as the first stop for the inner park shuttle. From Salt Lake City, the drive to the South Entrance and East Entrance will take about the same amount of time depending on traffic; however, the major difference comes when you drive to Zion from Bryce Canyon, in which case, being rerouted may add around an hour to the trip.

There are also other park entrances that will continue to allow RVs in Zion. One is the Kolob Canyons Entrance which doesn't connect to the main Zion Canyon but allows visitors to explore a much less-crowded side of the national park. There's also the Kolob Terrace Road Entrance which is much more off-the-beaten-path and is typically used by backcountry hikers; however, it is a very scenic drive which, in the opinion of one reviewer on TripAdvisor, "is quite literally the best thing to do in Zion National Park." 

So, no matter where you enter Zion National Park, you are sure to have a beautiful experience. Just make sure to avoid the biggest national park mistakes while there.