Natural Bridges National Monument | Great place for a one day visit

Natural Bridges National Monument is a great place to spend a day, and a night if you are interested in star gazing. It features three natural bridges that you can hike to, and an excellent scenic drive from which you can view all three bridges. While it's a bit out of the way, it's well worth the 1+ hour drive from Monument Valley.
It's usually quiet there, since Natural Bridges does not get a lot of visitors.
Because it's remote, the sky is very dark at night, for some excellent star gazing, especially with one of the bridges in the foreground.
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#nationalmonument #naturalbridgesnm
00:00 - Introduction
01:41 - Sipapu Bridge
02:19 - Difference between a natural bridge and an arch
02:59 - Horse Collar Overlook
03:24 - Kachina Bridge
04:12 - Owachomo Bridge
05:55 - Dark Sky Park
06:27 - Summary
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[@trwent]

I suggest doing one of the shorter loop hikes while visiting: Either the Sipapu to Kachina loop OR the Owachombo to Kachina loop. (Exiting at Kachina allows one to walk DOWNHILL within the canyons, and descending from the road to Sipapu allows one to climb DOWN the ladders instead of up them. If you are doing the long loop, you will DEFINITELY want to enter at Sipapu and exit at Owachomo--NOT the other way around--not only because you will want to walk down the Sipapu trail ladders rather than up them, but also because the hike up to the road from Owachomo bridge is VERY easy with only 180 feet of elevation gain.) The reason the loop hikes are so desirable is that the most scenic part of the park is actually NOT the bridges themselves--although they certainly are breathtaking--but rather the glorious canyons between them. Fantastic rock formations, emerald-green cottonwood trees, and beautiful cacti await the lucky few who venture into their depths. And as far as those 73,000+ yearly visitors is concerned, rest assured that the OVERWHELMING majority of them just go to the overlooks along the nine-mile drive, and NEVER hike down INTO the canyons. Those who do will find a new level of solitude and beauty that makes NBNM a great alternative to the crowds at Zion, Bryce, and Arches. A couple more tips on doing the loop hikes: Go in the early morning when it is cool, bring at least 2 liters of water per person for the short loops (3 liters for the long loop), and--assuming you have only one vehicle--park your car at the top of the bridge trail that you will be EXITING the loop at, and hike on top to your entrance trailhead FIRST. That way, your vehicle will be right there waiting for you when you hike up out of the canyon. If you have a group of people, all except the driver--or maybe the driver plus one other person to keep him/her company--can be let off at the entrance trailhead and the driver can go park at the exit trailhead and then hike (or maybe bum a ride?) to the entrance trailhead while the others wait there. Hiking along the top is easy and fast, but use the TRAIL rather than walking along the road, which is very dangerous and actually takes longer. (Of course, if you have two vehicles--and this is most desirable--, one can be left at each trailhead of your loop hike and NO hiking up on the plateau would be needed.) Plan about 3 - 4 hours for either of the short (i.e. 2-bridge) loop hikes and 5 - 6 hours for the long (i.e. Sipapu to Owachomo) bridge hike, plus 1 - 2 hours for the plateau "trailhead to trailhead" hike if necessary. Believe me, you will NOT want to rush once you are down in the canyon; you will want to take your time to enjoy its stunning beauty!

[@JourneytoAllNationalParks]

Wow! What great information!! Very useful! Thank you.

[@trwent]

@@JourneytoAllNationalParks You are welcome. This place is my church; I have been there a lot.

[@johnchedsey1306]

I've done the 2 loop trails during separate visits (don't quite have the stamina for the full loop) and all of this is excellent advice, especially the part about how the hikes down in the canyon are far more rewarding. On both occasions I was the only one actually doing the loop hike so it was perfect solitude. The only rough part is the ascent out of the canyon, but there's plenty of places to stop to catch your breath and gaze upon the magnificent scenery.

[@travis303]

If I can add anything, I understand we don't have the stunning mountain views or the ocean backdrop but I beg you don't forget about the Midwest. We have some great parks even if not national parks. I encourage everybody to go see Tallgrass National Preserve in Kansas and Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa. Both are small but exceptional places.

[@JourneytoAllNationalParks]

I will try to check them out. I've been to the mid-west twice on our park trips. The first one is : i0.wp.com/journey2allnationalparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2017-09-Northern-Tier-Trip-Map-Close.png The second one last year was through Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky (though I'm not sure Kentucky is mid-west). That was documented here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y33WmXV9g7GLppY

[@garygus5966]

Great video

[@JourneytoAllNationalParks]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@travis303]

It looks like you're gaining in viewership and subscribers. That's great. When I first started watching you you got maybe 15 or so views and now you have over 8K in subscribers!

[@JourneytoAllNationalParks]

Thanks Travis! I love all the comments you post! I enjoy doing them and it's good to see the slow but steady growth.

[@nationalparksprincess3216]

This park is fantastic for dark skies! I believe it was the first park designated as a dark sky park. Edit: lol right after I typed it, you said it 🤣

[@JourneytoAllNationalParks]

LOL!!

[@travis303]

Can you walk across any of the "bridges" or just look?

[@JourneytoAllNationalParks]

Not this bridge. There is no open trail on top.

[@trwent]

I don't think that walking on top of the bridges is actually illegal, but it could be precarious and dangerous and I would not recommend it for casual hikers. You can walk UNDER them all though with no problem!!