Natural Bridges National Monument is the perfect stop on a southeast Utah road trip! When we learned Natural Bridges was on our route, we knew we had to visit!
After visiting Monument Valley, and driving up the famed Moki Dugway, we popped into Natural Bridges National Monument for a few hours exploring the scenic drive including canyon views, multiple arches, and even an ancient cliff dwelling.
In this post, we’re covering the following
- 13 stops on the Natural Bridges scenic loop
- Easy bridge hikes
- The longer hikes in the park
- Things to know, like opening hours and what to pack
- What to do nearby
Let’s dive in!
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What Is Natural Bridges National Monument?
Glad you asked! We had no idea what Natural Bridges National Monument was either. Heck, we didn’t even know how a natural bridge officially forms. While down in Monument Valley, we heard from a couple of different people about this national monument and decided since we were so close, we needed to swing in.
Natural Bridges is a national monument with three different bridges and a few easy hiking trails. The natural bridges are similar to arches you would find in Arches National Park, except they’re formed from erosion caused by moving water.
Walking through the park, we could tell each bridge was formed from water erosion because each of them are within the canyon walls.
If you’re visiting southeast Utah on a quick road trip, we think Natural Bridges National Monument is a great alternative to Arches National Park, as it’s less crowded, and is not so far out of the way, allowing you to see other super great things in the area.
Where Is Natural Bridges National Monument?
Natural Bridges National Monument is located on Utah’s Scenic Highway 95. A four-mile paved road leads you off Highway 95 to the visitor center which is seasonally opened.
From the visitor center, you can take a nine-mile drive around the scenic loop to the different natural bridges and viewpoints.
We did this drive on a Tuesday at the beginning of April, and the visitor center was closed, and the national monument wasn’t too busy! So that was a major perk.
What Are The Three Natural Bridges in Natural Bridges National Monument?
- Sipapu Bridge | 220 feet tall spanning 268 feet wide
- Kachina Bridge | 210 feet tall spanning 204 feet wide
- Owachomo Bridge | 106 feet tall spanning 180 feet wide
Natural Bridges National Monument Hiking
Before I dive into the hikes, I want to add a friendly reminder. Most of these hikes are super short, but… it’s extremely hot at Natural Bridges!
Be sure to pack water… even for the one-mile hikes.
It’s even better to pack a small day backpack like this one, with some snacks and a full water bladder. When the visitor center is open, you can fill water from there. But when it’s closed, there is no water available in the park — check opening times here.
Natural Bridges Actual Bridge Hikes
Each of the following bridge hikes also has shorter, paved hikes to viewpoints of the bridges. We’ve noted each of the shorter hikes in the scenic drive section of this post.
It’s worth noting, that pets are not allowed on the trails in Natural Bridges National Monument. You can however take them along the short, paved paths to each viewpoint and have them in the parking areas.
Sipapu Bridge
- Distance | 1.5 miles round trip
- Elevation | 500 feet
- Time Needed | 1 hour
Kachina Bridge
- Distance | 1.5 miles round trip
- Elevation | 400 feet
- Time Needed | 1 hour
Owachomo Bridge
- Distance | .5 miles round trip
- Elevation | 180 feet
- Time Needed | 30 minutes
Cliff Dwelling Hike
Horsecollar House
- Distance | .6 miles round trip
- Elevation | 30 feet
- Time Needed | 30 minutes
Longer Loop Hikes
Any of the loop routes can be started at either of the parking areas from each bridge. The Owachomo Bridge has the most parking available, but it’s also the last place, so you may want to park at whatever bridge you find parking at from the beginning.
Sipapu Bridge to Kachina Bridge
- Distance | 5.6 miles round trip
- Elevation Change | 500 feet
- Time Needed | 3 – 4 hours
This loop takes visitors from the parking area down below the bridge, then along the canyon floor right past the Horsecollar House. This loop is unique because you get to get up close and personal with the Horsecollar House, versus just seeing it from the viewpoint across the canyon.
Take this loop or the Sipapu Bridge to Owachomo Bridge (the big loop through the park) if you want to hike to the Horsecollar House ruins.
Kachina Bridge to Owachomo Bridge
- Distance | 6.5 miles round trip
- Elevation Change | 400 feet
- Time Needed | 3 – 4 hours
As with each of the loop hikes in Natural Bridges National Monument, you’ll start at one bridge, hiking down into the canyon, under the bridge, and then along the bottom of the canyon until reaching the second bridge.
This can be down in either direction, and you will not be hiking past the Horsecollar House on this loop.
Sipapu Bridge to Owachomo Bridge
- Distance | 9.8 miles round trip
- Elevation Change | 500 feet
- Time Needed | 5 – 6 hours
This is the mega loop in the park. And honestly, it can be started from any of the bridge parking areas, as each parking area grants access down into the canyon.
This loop will take hikers across the top of the mesa, then down into the canyon under each of the three bridges, and up close and personal with the Horsecollar House.
Be mindful of the lack of shade and the heat for this long of a hike. Be sure to be extra prepared with lots of water, sun protection, and snacks.
13 Stops on the Natural Bridges Scenic Loop
When we visited Natural Bridges National Monument, we did the scenic drive, and aside from the viewpoint hikes, we only hiked down underneath Owachomo Bridge. This bridge was the coolest bridge in our opinion, and with a short hike to it, it’s easy to add in even when short on time.
5 Things To Know
- 9 miles long
- One-way paved road
- 13 pullouts with limited space for big rigs
- Bathroom only at Kachina Bridge Parking
- No water – must fill up at visitor center
First Stop | Canyon Overlook
- Coordinates | 37.618469, -109.998967
- Parking | parallel parking area
The first stop on the nine mile loop is a canyon overlook. This is an area with parallel parking on a curve, and unmarked dirt trails to multiple viewpoints of the surrounding canyon.
Take care when visiting this spot as there is no guardrail and no real trail here.
Second Stop | Sipapu Bridge Overlook
- Coordinates | 37.614198, -110.003527
- Parking | ten long parking spaces
If traveling with multiple cars, be sure to park in the same spot here, as there are only ten spaces. This is a paved trail leading to a viewpoint on Sipapu Bridge.
At the viewpoint there is a bench and a sign explaining the different layers and geological formations in the area. This viewpoint is a fenced area with a great view of Sipapu Bridge.
From here, you can also see people on the trail that leads to Sipapu Bridge and the parking area for that trailhead.
Third Stop | Picnic Area
- Coordinates | 37.612059, -110.003442
- Parking | a handful of pull in spaces
This is a small picnic area with a handful of covered picnic tables and trash and recycle.
There are no views from this picnic area, but it’s a great place to stop and take a break if the hiking location looks like the parking is full
Fourth Stop | Sipapu Bridge Hike
- Coordinates | 37.613202, -110.009178
- Parking | about ten pull in parking spots, wide for RVs and a long parallel area to park for one rig just past the parking lot.
- Hike Duration | 1.5 miles out and back
This was the most popular pull off so far along the scenic drive. That’s because this one actually has a hiking trail that leads down to the Sipapu Bridge.
The hike from here is 1.5 miles or 2.4 km with a total of 500 feet in elevation. You should plan about an hour of hiking time to make it down to the bridge and back up the trail.
Take note here, that the entire way to the bridge is downhill, and then you return all uphill on the way back. While this hike is short, but sure to bring water as it gets hot in the canyon!
Stop 5 | Horsecollar House Overlook
- Coordinates | 37.611851, -110.015078
- Parking | pul in with extra parallel parking just before the parking lot
- Hike Duration | .6 miles out and back
This short hike takes about thirty minutes to complete and is a relatively easy hike, but does have some fall hazards and slick rock to climb on.
There views of the surrounding canyon are great and at the end of the trail, there is a sign post explaining the ruins you can see below.
Look closely at the end of the trail to find the ruins here, there are two of them!
From the information signs at the viewpoint, look down and to the right to see Horsecollar House, and then just to the right of that, you’ll see another set of ruins.
We enjoyed also hiking on the slick rock to see a massive bend in the canyon right at the beginning of this trail.
Stops 6-8 | Canyon Viewpoints
These stops are all parallel pullouts with semi-decent views of the canyon below. We didn’t actually stop at any of them, as there’s not much to see and no trails that we could find.
With that said, I wanted to include in case you need a break from the crowds and are looking for more of a private spot to have a picnic on the rocks with the canyon views below.
Stop 9 | Kachina Bridge
- Coordinates | 37.598382, -110.026483
- Parking | around 15 pull in parking spaces, wide enough for RVs
- Hike Duration | .3 miles total on paved path
This is the first spot on the loop, with a bathroom. There is one pit toilet here. The other bathroom is before the loop at the visitor’s center and is open even when the visitor’s center is closed.
From this parking area, you can hike to a viewpoint of Kachina Bridge, or continue down the trail to the base of Kachina Bridge.
To get to the viewpoint of Kachina bridge, follow the paved path .13 miles down to a viewpoint with an information board. Then return (uphill) back to the car park.
Looking at the information signs at the viewpoint, the bridge is to the right, and can be difficult to find in harsh lighting.
If you look closely as you walk down the path, at the end of the first short handrail, you can actually see the bridge!
Plan for about 10-20 minutes here if hiking just to the viewpoint. If you plan on going all the way down the trail (2 miles round trip) plan for 1.5 hours here, and be sure to bring water!
Stop 10 | Owachomo Bridge
- Coordinates | 37.585216, -110.013846
- Parking | biggest parking lot
- Hike Duration | .5 to under the bridge, 220 ft paved path to viewpoint
This is by far the biggest parking lot on the entire scenic loop, and I think that’s because this is the coolest natural bridge!
There is a paved, accessible trail to a viewpoint of Owachomo Bridge that’s only 220 feet and have very minimal elevation gain. Otherwise, it’s a half a mile total, on an out and back trail to get underneath the Owachomo Bridge.
This trail does have quite a few stairs to go up and down and a few fall hazard and slick rock crossings.
This was by far our favorite natural bridge in Natural Bridge National Monument, and it’s a great one to have a picnic underneath as there’s quite a lot of shade!
To hike down to the bottom of the bridge and back, plan for 30 minutes including ample time for photos!
Stop 11 | PJ Forest
- Coordinates | 37.590459, -110.00487
- Parking | pull through style
For those interested in the forest in the area, this is a great stop with an informational board about the PJ forest and two different prominent trees in the area.
There is a small trail that goes out into the forest and to a viewpoint, but otherwise, you could really stay in your car and read the sign from there!
Stop 12 | Bears Ears Viewpoint
- Coordinates | 37.595292, -109.997171
- Parking | pull through style
This viewpoint gives you a view of the expansive mesa and the Bears Ears in the distance. It’s interesting to stand here and image what life would have looked like for those who used to live in the cliff dwellings of this region.
At this viewpoint, there is an information board with the folklore of how the Bears Ears came about.
Again this is just a pullout viewpoint and no hiking here, but the view is nice!
Stop 13 | Pull Out
- Coordinates | 37.60328, -109.988439
- Parking | pull through
This is the final place to pull over on the scenic loop before returning back to the visitor center. This pullout has no information board or any trails, and is instead just a little pull off on the side of the road.
What To Pack For Natural Bridges National Monument
Day Backpack With Water Bladder
Rechargeable Headlamp
Binoculars
Trail Shoes (these are our favorite)
Snacks
National Park Pass
Sun Protection
Things To Do Near Natural Bridges National Monument
See The House On Fire | Read about it here
Drive The Scenic Highway 95
Hike Through Leprechaun Slot Canyon
Camp At The Unbelievable Muley Point
More On Southeast Utah
5 Epic Free Campsites Near Monument Valley
Driving Bryce Canyon to Zion National Park Itinerary
Hiking The Famous Mexican Hat Rock
Mexican Hat, Utah | Things To Do In This Underrated Town
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