Natural Bridges National Monument

What Is It?	Slideshow
Do you know the difference between a natural bridge and an arch? If not, this is a good place to visit to see it live. The main difference seems to be natural bridges are formed primarily through force of flowing water. For a more formal essay on the subject, check out the article from USGS on ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARCHES. Natural Bridges National Monument is home to 3 impressive natural bridges- Sipapu, Kachina and Owachomo, with ages from young to old. All bridges can be viewed from overlooks on a loop road that are wheelchair reachable. There is also an extensive trail system allowing hikers to reach the base of the bridges and to Indian artifacts. Trails can be slippery and steep. Some trails such as Kachina trail have hand rails to assist getting up and down. The Sipapu Bridge is the youngest and largest of the three, measuring 220 ft high and a span of 268 ft. Per utah.com, it's the second largest bridge in the world. From this source, Natural Bridges NM also has the distinction of being the first International Dark Sky Park. There is an important concentration of Anasazi ruins in the park, including the Horse Collar ruin and the Sixteen Room Ruin. There is a developed campground in the park that seems to be reasonably available. When I was there one late Sunday afternoon in October, the campground still had space available. Given the extensive trails and variety of things to see, this park should be a destination of a multi-day visit. This would also allow optimal photography during the early and late hours of the day. At the same time, decent photos can be acquired mid morning or mid afternoon, since reflected light to the underside of the bridges can provide colorful glows. During an earlier visit in 2005, the park entrance sign was being erected, and I was able to hike the Kachina Bridge trail which was a memorable experience. I also stayed overnight at the campground and was able to capture some pictures around sunset.

Getting There The park is 42 miles west of Blanding, where accommodations can be found. Road getting to the park is highway quality and easy to drive.
Additional Considerations
Useful links
NPS information on Natural Bridges National Monument - it contains high level information and the typical important stuff - open hours, directions, etc. Utah.com information about Natural Bridges - indicating Sipapu as the second largest natural bridge in the world, and this location being among the least light polluted in the US, and has the distinction of world's first International Dark Sky Park wikipedia information about Natural Bridges, including a table of dimensions of width, height, span and thickness. It also contains some good representative pictures of the bridges and Indian ruins. USGS article about natural arches and differences between arches, bridges, windows, etc.