Virgin River Gorge

The Virgin River Gorge is a canyon in north-western Arizona, cut by the Virgin River between St George in Utah and Beaver Dam in Arizona. The same river shaped the topography of Zion National Park. Interstate 15 runs through the gorge and crosses the river several times; this stretch is among the most expensive sections of Interstate highway ever constructed, and the winding alignment of the canyon makes for difficult driving. The climate is that of the Mojave Desert, with hot summers and mild winters, and the plants and animals of the canyon are likewise typical of the Mojave. The gorge is used for rock climbing, walking and camping. In 1997 the American climber Chris Sharma made the first ascent of Necessary Evil here, the first sport climbing route in the United States graded 8c+, or 5.14c.

Where it is

Virgin River Gorge is a canyon near Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, in Mohave County. It is one of the canyons in this database, and appears in the statewide ranking of Arizona attractions.

How this ranking was reached

No official visitor count is published for Virgin River Gorge, so its score rests on public interest and tourism significance, and is capped below the level a measured attraction can reach. That is why the medium confidence above is not higher. The weighting is explained in full on the methodology page, and every axis is broken out under Facts and sources at the foot of this page.

Note on the data: No official visitor count is published for this attraction.

Sources

• Public interest: Wikimedia pageviews (en.wikipedia, human traffic), 2024
• Coordinates and designations: Wikivoyage(opens in a new tab)
• County: U.S. Census geography via FCC Area API, resolved from coordinates

Record last verified 2026-08-12.