Virgin River Gorge
Scenic landmarks
The limestone canyon Interstate 15 threads on the way to Las Vegas, about 20 miles southwest of St. George in Arizona, with a BLM campground, trails and hard sport climbing.
The canyon everyone drives through
Every trip from St. George toward Las Vegas passes through the Virgin River Gorge, where I-15 follows the river between towering limestone walls. It is one of the more dramatic stretches of interstate in the country. Most people experience it at 75 mph and never stop.
One thing surprises people: despite being the road out of St. George, the gorge itself is not in Utah at all.
The most expensive road in the country
The stretch you are driving took nine years to build and opened in December 1973. At completion it was the most expensive rural Interstate project ever undertaken in the United States, and it held the record for the costliest section of Interstate highway anywhere until Boston's Big Dig.
The reason is visible from the car. Through the lower gorge the canyon narrows to as little as 150 feet, leaving no room for a road beside a river — so the engineers moved the river instead, rechanneling the Virgin twelve separate times to fit the highway through. The alternative was a far longer route around; the road as built cut eleven miles off the journey.
It is worth a moment's attention next time you drive it. Very little Interstate anywhere required this much argument with the landscape.
Stopping
There is one place to pull off and actually see the canyon rather than pass through it, run by the Bureau of Land Management on the south side of the interstate. From there you can reach the river corridor and two designated wilderness areas — the Paiute Wilderness east of the road and the Beaver Dam Mountains Wilderness west of it. Exit details are in the questions below.
Walking and climbing
The Ridgeline Loop runs about 1.1 miles from the I-15 trailhead and climbs roughly 1,000 feet along the ridge before looping back — a short walk with a disproportionate view.
The gorge is also a nationally known sport climbing venue, and the rock is the reason. This is steep limestone rather than the sandstone that defines climbing everywhere else around St. George, which puts it at the hard end of the grade range and draws climbers who would otherwise have no reason to stop between Utah and Nevada.
Timing
Low elevation means it is hot — hotter than St. George, which is already saying something. Winter and the shoulder seasons are the time to come; midsummer afternoons are punishing, and the canyon walls hold the heat well after the sun has gone.
Related on the site: climbing around St. George.
Frequently asked questions
Why was this road so expensive to build?
There was nowhere to put it. The walls pinch too tightly for a highway and a river to share the floor. So the engineers moved the water instead, a dozen times over. Nine years of that set a national cost record for rural Interstate that stood until Boston's Big Dig.
Is the climbing here the same as around St. George?
No, and that is the appeal. Climbing near St. George is sandstone; the gorge is steep limestone, which produces harder, more sustained routes and attracts climbers who would otherwise drive straight past on their way between Utah and Nevada.
Is there a short walk worth doing?
The Ridgeline Loop, about 1.1 miles from the trailhead by the interstate, gains roughly 1,000 feet and returns a view out of all proportion to the effort. Greyhaven Pinnacle from the same trailhead is a genuine scramble rather than a walk — know which one you are starting.
When should I avoid it?
Midsummer afternoons. It sits lower than St. George and runs hotter, and the limestone walls keep radiating heat long after the sun is off them. Winter and the shoulder seasons are when this place is comfortable, which is the reverse of how most people plan a desert stop.
Is the Virgin River Gorge in Utah?
No. It is in Mohave County, Arizona, on the Arizona Strip, about 20 miles southwest of St. George along Interstate 15.
Can you stop in the Virgin River Gorge?
Yes. The Virgin River Canyon Recreation Area at the Cedar Pockets exit, on the south side of I-15 around mile marker 18, has a BLM campground, a picnic area and trailheads. Modest day-use and camping fees apply and are payable on site.