Belly of the Dragon, Southern Utah

For Mother's Day, my wife wanted to do a little exploring so we decided to try out The Belly of the Dragon. Originally constructed as a covert under UT hwy89, this tunnel is a great place for families to explore.

Belly of the Dragon is located about a half mile south of the Mt Carmel Junction along hwy 89. From Hurricane, Utah, you can get there from the north by going through Zion National Park or from the south by going through Colorado City and taking the Cane Beds turnoff. We took the southern route to get there through Colorado City and returned through Zion National Park.

Here's a map shot showing the route we took to get there from Hurricane, Utah

The turn off to get there from hwy 89 is unmarked and easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for. Here are a couple of pictures of the turn off if you are heading south from Carmel Junction:

A Speed Limit sign is along the highway just before the unmarked turnoff.

The turnoff is the gravel road on the right where you can see a truck coming back onto the highway.

Here's a few looks at getting to the turn off if you're coming from the south:

The turn off is just past the metal guard on the left. Notice the blue sign on the right.

The turnoff is immediately across the street from this brown sign.

And here's a look as we're about to turn onto the dirt road that takes you to the small parking area.

This is the road that takes you a short distance to a small parking area up ahead on the left side of the dirt road.

Here's a look at the parking area.

Finding it is definitely the most difficult part of the journey. The trail starts off on a dirt road and after just a short walk, you are brought to a 5 foot drop (down climb) to get to the tunnel. The drop isn't difficult for most people but small children will need assistance. 

The tunnel is the highlight of the hike, for sure, as you walk under hwy 89 for about 100 yards. (A flashlight is a good thing to bring with you as there are sporadic rocks on the sandy tunnel bottom that can cause you to trip).  

After exiting the far side of the tunnel, you can take about a quarter mile walk on a sandy trail to a waterfall that had just a trickle of water coming down. We also took a short hike up and around the waterfall to the right to get to the top of it. 

Once above the waterfall, we didn't explore for too long, but the trail continues for as long as I could see. 

Here are some pictures from the hike:

Here's a look at the trail as it starts from the parking area and heads toward the tunnel. The tunnel starts where the dirt road ends in this picture and heads off to the left through the rock band you can see.

Here's a look at the 5 foot drop down into the tunnel.

For scope, here's a picture of me helping my 6 year-old daughter down.

Here's a look at the entrance to the tunnel.

As the trail exits the tunnel, a sandy wash leads you to a small waterfall.

This is the waterfall the wash leads you to...

Taking a step back, we decided to hike up to the top of the falls.

There are a couple of ways to get to the top. This is the way we took...

Here's a look from the top of the waterfall back down below.