Belly of the Dragon is the short, easy, slightly-spooky walk under US-89 in the Mt. Carmel area, where what was originally a 1960s drainage culvert under the highway has been weathered by sixty years of flash floods into a tunnel-canyon with sandstone walls, a sand floor, and the kind of confined-space feel that earns it its dragon-belly name. The whole walk is six-tenths of a mile and the trailhead is a gravel pullout off the highway between Kanab and Orderville.
What it actually is
The "tunnel" is a culvert built under US-89 to carry runoff from a wash on the east side of the highway to the drainage on the west. Over the decades, repeated flash floods have eroded the culvert's interior into shapes that look more like natural canyon than concrete pipe. The result is a 200-foot tunnel with smooth, fluted walls and a sandy floor that walks like a slot canyon rather than a road cut. Visitors emerge on the west side of the highway into the wash that the culvert drains.
The walk
From the small pullout off US-89 (north of Mt. Carmel Junction), a worn path drops down into the wash and follows it to the tunnel entrance. The tunnel is big enough to walk through upright with a few feet of headroom; it's dark in the middle but light at both ends, so you don't need a headlamp unless you want one. Past the tunnel, the wash continues for a few hundred yards before the canyon opens up. Most parties walk through, look around, and walk back.
Family-friendly
This is one of the most accessible "slot-canyon-feeling" walks in the Kanab area. The grade is flat, the distance is short, the tunnel is impressive without being scary, and there's no real navigation. Families with small kids do it routinely. Strollers don't really work — the sandy approach and the tunnel floor are too soft — but small children can walk the whole thing.
When to skip it
After heavy rain, the wash runs water and the tunnel can be ankle-deep in flowing water. After very heavy rain, flash floods through the tunnel are dangerous (it's a culvert by design — the water moves fast). Don't go during active monsoon storms. Otherwise the walk is functionally year-round, with winter conditions sometimes putting ice on the tunnel floor.
What's around
Belly of the Dragon sits in the corridor between Zion's east entrance and Kanab on US-89. Many parties combine it with a visit to nearby slot canyons (Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon further east) or with a drive into Mt. Carmel for a coffee at the Thunderbird restaurant. The Maynard Dixon Living History Site is nearby in Mt. Carmel proper. Combined with a Zion Canyon Overlook hike on the east-side Zion trip, you can fill a morning easily.
Heat and seasonality
The tunnel and lower wash stay shaded most of the day, which makes Belly of the Dragon comfortable even in summer afternoons when the rest of the corridor is hot. It's one of the few short Kanab-area walks that works in July and August without a sunrise start. Spring and fall are still the best windows because the surrounding country is more pleasant generally.
Where it fits
Belly of the Dragon is the quick stop visitors make on the drive between Zion and Kanab, or between Bryce Canyon and Zion via the Mt. Carmel route. It's not a destination people drive across the state for, but it's the kind of fifteen-minute walk that gets a lot of mileage out of a small effort. For families and for parties wanting a slot-canyon experience without the commitment of Wire Pass or Buckskin Gulch, it's an easy yes.