In the southeastern corner of Utah, Natural Bridges National Monument protects three of the finest natural bridges on Earth. They’re named Owachomo, Kachina, and Sipapu. There’s also evidence of older bridges that have collapsed over the eons, the same fate that will eventually claim these three, though the odds of that happening in our lifetimes are slim.
Beyond the bridges, the monument holds a collection of well-preserved ancestral Puebloan sites, including ruins, petroglyphs, and structures. Horse Collar Ruin is the standout among them.
For a lot of people, though, the best thing at Natural Bridges isn’t a thing at all. It’s the dark. This was the world’s first International Dark Sky Park, certified in 2007, and that tells you most of what you need to know about stargazing here. I photograph dark skies for a living and I’ve traveled plenty, and I’ve never seen better.
In this guide I’ll share my own tips for visiting: what to see, how to spend your time, what to know before you go, and a couple of lesser-known spots. Let’s get into it.
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Table of Contents: Natural Bridges National Monument
Quick Things to Know Before You Go
Location: Southeastern Utah
Size: 7,636 acres
Established: April 16, 1908 (Utah’s first national monument)
Managed by: National Park Service
- Entrance is $20 per vehicle. If you’ll visit more national parks within 12 months, the America the Beautiful annual pass pays for itself fast.
- There’s no food in the monument, so pack plenty of food, snacks, and water.
- Fall is the best time to visit, with low canyon water, cooler temperatures, and good light. Mid-to-late October is my pick. If you’re chasing Milky Way photos, August is better, but the heat is real.
- Lodging: The nearest town is Blanding, about 40 miles east. You can check hotels in Blanding or our favorite local lodge.
- The rules: No drones, and no pets on trails. Pets are allowed only as far as a car can go. This protects the fragile desert ecosystem, and rangers will write you up.
A Little Background on Natural Bridges
Theodore Roosevelt signed Natural Bridges into being on April 16, 1908, making it Utah’s first national monument. The area was protected for both its geology and its culture, home to some of the world’s finest natural bridges and to ancient Puebloan sites. People have lived in this country for roughly 10,000 years, and the evidence they left behind is remarkably intact.
Getting To and Around Natural Bridges
You’ll need a car here; there’s no public transit. The closest cities with rental fleets are all a serious drive away:
- Flagstaff (4 hours)
- Albuquerque (5.5 hours)
- Salt Lake City (5.5 hours)
- Santa Fe (6.5 hours)
- Phoenix (6.5 hours)
Most people fold Natural Bridges into a Utah national parks road trip. It’s about 2.5 hours from Moab (Arches and Canyonlands), under 2 hours from Four Corners, and under 1.5 hours from Monument Valley. Inside the monument, getting lost is impossible: it’s a single one-way loop, Bridge View Drive, that takes about 40 minutes to drive without stops.
Natural Bridge vs. Natural Arch
The simplest version:
Natural bridge: carved by running water.
Natural arch: shaped by erosion from wind, frost, and water.
There’s nuance for those who want it. Every natural bridge is technically an arch by shape, but not every arch is a bridge. The difference is how they form, and specifically the role of running water. A natural arch is shaped by general erosion: wind, water, and the freeze-thaw cycle widening cracks over time. You’ll find them everywhere from deserts to coastlines, recognizable by their window-like openings. Delicate Arch in Utah is the textbook example.
A natural bridge is a kind of arch, but one cut by a stream or river slicing through rock. That’s why bridges almost always sit where flowing water has done the work. Think of them as nature’s overpasses, with the streambed running underneath. Sipapu Bridge, carved by the water of White Canyon, is a perfect example.
Top Things to See and Do at Natural Bridges
Ask three people which bridge is their favorite and you’ll get three answers. Mine is Sipapu. It’s the largest and most imposing in the park. At 220 feet tall and spanning 268 feet, Sipapu is taller than the Space Shuttle and longer, nose to tail, than a Boeing 747. If you only see one bridge here, make it this one.
1. Sipapu Bridge
- Height: 220 feet (67 meters)
- Width: 31 feet (9.5 meters)
- Span: 268 feet (82 meters)
- Thickness: 53 feet (16 meters)
The name “Sipapu” came from early-1900s surveyor William Douglass (not the Supreme Court justice), who mistakenly tied the area to the Hopi rather than the Paiute. Sipapu is a Hopi word that roughly means “opening between worlds.”
Sipapu Bridge Hike
- Distance: 1.2 miles round trip
- Elevation: about 500 feet of descent and return
- Time: 1 to 2 hours
If you’re able-bodied, hiking down to Sipapu is the top thing to do in the park. The trail starts not at the Sipapu Viewpoint (which comes first on the loop) but at the picnic area a short way down the road. The whole way down you get terrific views of the bridge and canyon, and you’ll climb a series of staircases and wooden ladders to reach the bottom.
From there you can link onto the canyon-bottom trails that connect to the other bridges (more on that below). I’d start around sunrise for the best light. If you’ve got headlamps and an adventurous streak, seeing the stars framed through the bridge at night is something else.
2. Kachina Bridge
- Height: 210 feet (64 meters)
- Width: 44 feet (13 meters)
- Span: 204 feet (62 meters)
- Thickness: 93 feet (28 meters)
Kachina is the youngest-looking and thickest of the three bridges, nearly double the thickness of Sipapu. It sits between Sipapu and Owachomo, which is why it’s often called the “middle bridge,” and it’s also the most recently reshaped. In 1992 a roughly 4,000-ton slab of sandstone fell from the bridge, enlarging the opening to what you see today. Douglass named it for the rock-art figures beneath it that he read as Kachina dancers.
Kachina Bridge Hike
- Distance: 1.4 miles round trip
- Elevation: about 460 feet of descent and return
- Time: 1 to 2 hours
The Kachina trail is much like the Sipapu hike in length and elevation, but I find it a touch harder because it has fewer ladders and stairs to break up the steep descent. It’s not a good pick for anyone with mobility concerns. The reward is the rock art: approaching from the Kachina Bridge Trail, the petroglyphs appear on the right just as you reach the bridge’s enormous span, and reflecting pools often gather underneath.
3. Owachomo Bridge
- Height: 106 feet (32 meters)
- Width: 27 feet (8 meters)
- Span: 180 feet (55 meters)
- Thickness: 9 feet (3 meters)
Owachomo is the most delicate of the three and the most likely to collapse one day. Its span is the thinnest in the park at just nine feet, which is exactly why some people love it most. There’s no imminent danger, but a bridge this slender won’t last forever. Douglass named this one too, after a Hopi word for “rock mound.”
Owachomo Bridge Hike
- Distance: 0.5 miles round trip
- Elevation: minimal
- Time: 30 to 45 minutes
If you want the easiest bridge to reach, Owachomo is it. A short walk with little elevation gain drops you right under the span. You can’t hike on top of it, but the view from below is plenty.
4. World-Class Stargazing
As the world’s first International Dark Sky Park, certified in 2007, Natural Bridges is one of the best places anywhere to watch the night sky. On a clear, moonless night you can see thousands of stars and the Milky Way with your naked eye, no equipment needed. I photograph dark skies for a living, and this is the best I’ve found.
If you’re coming for the stars, check a moon-phase calendar and aim for nights near the new moon. Moonlight washes out the faint stars, so plan your viewing for after the moon has set. For the Milky Way’s bright core, July and August are the prime months. A sturdy travel tripod is the one piece of gear worth bringing if you want photos.
5. Explore (and Respect) Horse Collar Ruin
Between Sipapu and Kachina, closer to Sipapu, sits one of the best-preserved Puebloan sites anywhere: Horse Collar Ruin. It’s been “lost” and “found” more than once, most recently rediscovered in 1937 by then-superintendent Zeke Johnson. Its condition reflects both the area’s remoteness and careful park stewardship.
What makes it special is a nearly intact kiva with its original roof, a rare look at how these were built. You can’t touch or enter the structures, but those willing to hike down get an unusually close view.
Two ways to see it:
- Easy: a 0.6-mile round-trip walk with little elevation to the Horse Collar Ruin Overlook.
- Harder: a roughly 3-mile round trip with about 500 feet of elevation down and back to the ruin itself.
From the overlook you’ll really want binoculars, but it beats nothing if mobility is a concern. If you’re already hiking down to Sipapu, adding Horse Collar (about 1.5 flat miles round trip from the canyon floor) is a no-brainer. From the Sipapu trail, continue southwest toward Kachina and the ruin appears on the right canyon wall fairly early. An easy scramble gets you up.
6. The Lesser-Known Kachina Ruins
One of the best parts of my last trip was tracking down the lesser-known Kachina ruins. I knew they existed but only had a rough idea where, and I hit a few dead ends before finding them. There’s no signage and no official trail.
When you arrive you’ll find the ruins roped off and a small wooden box on a boulder. Inside, the NPS left a note: “Greetings! You have discovered one of the lesser known and least visited archeological sites at Natural Bridges.” It goes on to ask visitors to be good stewards, which, judging by the footprints past the rope, not everyone is. There are petroglyphs and pictographs on the nearby wall.
Finding it was half the fun, so I’ll share the clues I used. It’s very close to Kachina Bridge. I’d seen photos beforehand and used the prominent orange desert-varnish streaks on the canyon wall as a guide. Reach Kachina Bridge, look for those marks, and it shouldn’t be hard. If you’d rather skip the hunt, drop a comment with your contact info and I’ll email you the details.
7. Find the Many Hands Alcove
The NPS marks almost none of the archeological sites here except Horse Collar Ruin, and even that’s just the overlook. Many Hands Alcove is no different, with no sign pointing the way.
I’m still working to confirm the age of these pictographs and will update when I have it. Personally, I liked this site even more than Horse Collar. Human handprints connect with me more than the built structures do. If you visit, don’t touch the handprints, tempting as it is to line yours up with theirs. You can compare without ever touching the wall.
Getting there is a little tricky. Follow the Sipapu trail toward Horse Collar Ruin, hang to the right of the canyon, and look for a sandy bank. The alcove sits behind it. If you reach Horse Collar Ruin you’ve gone too far, so try again on the way back.
8. Take in the Bridge Overlooks
We’ve covered the bridges and how to hike to them, but some days you just don’t feel like the descent, and that’s fine. Each bridge has a designated viewpoint with a strong view down into the canyon. Better still, every overlook has a paved path, making them ADA accessible. They’re great for sunrise and sunset, with Owachomo best at sunrise and Sipapu best at sunset.
9. Admire Bears Ears From Afar
A few years back, Jim and I made a short film on the Manti-La Sal National Forest, which sits within the larger Bears Ears region, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and Visit Utah. The Bears Ears buttes are more striking from a distance than up close, visible for miles across this relatively flat country. From Natural Bridges you can pick them out on the horizon, and seeing them in person makes it clear why they’ve held such meaning in Native cultures for so long. For more nearby spots, our Manti-La Sal piece has plenty.
10. Hike the Loop Trails
If you want a bigger day, the park has three connecting loop options:
- Sipapu to Kachina Loop: 5.7 miles, about 1,000 feet of elevation change. If you do one loop, do this one. It’s the shortest and holds most of the best archeological sites. Start at either trailhead (I’d pick Sipapu), drop into the canyon, climb back out at the other bridge, and use the Mesa Top Trail to return to your car.
- Kachina to Owachomo Loop: 6.5 miles, about 750 feet of elevation change. Same idea but less canyon scenery, so I’d skip it unless you’re collecting miles.
- Full Loop: 12 miles, about 1,200 feet of elevation change. A full-day effort for experienced hikers with plenty of water and food.
My two cents: hike the Sipapu-to-Kachina loop, then drive to Owachomo. Once you’re in the canyon you have to climb out anyway, so you might as well do it at the next bridge and catch all the sites in between. Those extra miles are flat and worth it.
Camping at Natural Bridges
If you’re here, it’s almost a crime not to stay for the dark skies, and if you’re staying for the dark skies, you might as well camp. The park has a small developed campground that runs first come, first served, so arrive early in the busy fall season. Few things beat a night under stars this clear.
Campground Info
- $16 per night
- 13 sites, first come, first served (no reservations)
- Vault toilets, one ADA site
- Campground details on Recreation.gov
For a desert campground there’s a good amount of privacy thanks to juniper and piñon pine. Summer days can hit triple digits, but nights almost always drop into the 60s or cooler, so camping stays comfortable even in the warmer months.
Watch Our Natural Bridges Film
To make this film we spent a couple of weeks here in late October, our favorite time to visit. We hiked every trail, shot every top attraction, and gathered terabytes of footage before cutting it down to the three minutes that capture this place.
Shooting at night was the highlight. We hiked to each bridge with headlamps to grab time lapses, some of which compress 10-plus hours into a few seconds. This film, like many of ours, was made possible by the folks at Visit Utah.
At a minimum, plan one day and one night. A single day covers all the top attractions, but the night skies, arguably the main draw, require an overnight stay.
Three: Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachomo.
Blanding, Utah, about 40 miles east, is the closest town with services and lodging.
Explore More Nearby
- Utah parks overview: Utah National Parks Guide
- Road trip: Utah National Parks Road Trip
- Canyonlands: Things to Do in Canyonlands
- Capitol Reef: Things to Do in Capitol Reef
- Zion: Guide to Zion National Park
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