| Summary: |
A nice hike
to the three bridges in the Monument along with Indian ruins, petroglyphs
and pictographs. |
| Directions: |
Natural
Bridges is located on Highway 95 about half way between Blanding and Hite
in southern Utah. To get there drive from AZ to Utah on Highway 163
through Monument Valley. After passing the town of Mexican Hat, turn
left on Highway 261and drive to it's end (there are a couple miles of dirt
road through this section). Turn left on Highway 95 following the
signs to Natural Bridges. Once in the Monument, the Bridge View
Drive road runs in a loop with parking at overlooks for each of the 3
bridges. You can park at any of the bridges to perform this loop
hike. |
| Road
Conditions: |
Passenger Car |
| Navigation: |
Easy |
| Length: |
~8 miles |
| Date
Hiked: |
November,
2000 |
| Weather
Conditions: |
Nice &
cool |
|
Required Skills: |
None |
| Hike
Description: |
The loop
hike consists of walking down White Canyon from Sipapu to Katchina
Bridges, then down Armstrong Canyon from Katchina to Owachomo Bridges then
via a trail on the mesa top to complete the hike. It doesn't really
matter where you park or which direction you hike. The hike in the
canyons is well marked and quite flat with little elevation change (except
for the 500 ft climb into, and out of the canyon. There are some
nice ruins on stream right down canyon from Sipapu Bridge and some more
ruins and petroglyphs on the right on the south side of Katchina Bridge.
Please respect these sites and look, but do not disturb or touch. |
| Rating
(1-5 stars): |
The author and his wife parked at Owachomo Bridge, hiked the mesa
trail to Sipapu Bridge then hiked the canyons back to the car visiting the
ruins along the way. The hike was completed in just over 5 hours. |
| Maps: |
Paper maps
are available for free at the visitors center. |
| Photos: |
Click picture for larger
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