Natural Bridge

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

About Natural Bridge

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Natural Bridge could very well Yellowstone National Park’s only significant natural arch or bridge, and it took us three trips to the reserve before we finally got a chance to see it.

Typically early in the Summer, grizzly bears would frequent the trails that would lead to the Natural Bridge thereby resulting in the trail’s closure.

Natural_Bridge_049_08012020 - Looking up through the Natural Bridge with wet rocks beneath its span where Bridge Creek cascaded into the thick bush below
Looking up through the Natural Bridge with wet rocks beneath its span where Bridge Creek cascaded into the thick bush below

That prevented us from making a visit to this eccentric formation back in June 2004.

When we came back to Yellowstone in August 2017, we simply ran out of time.

However, on our latest visit in early August 2020, we finally made it a point to fit in a visit this place (on the same day we happened to take part in a grizzly bear jam closer to the east end of Yellowstone Lake).

Anyways, I considered not having this write-up because I didn’t expect there to be a waterfall here.

Natural_Bridge_035_08012020 - Another look up through the Natural Bridge with the course of Bridge Creek cutting through the foliage down below
Another look up through the Natural Bridge with the course of Bridge Creek cutting through the foliage down below

However, when I heard the sound of falling water (even though Bridge Creek’s volume wasn’t strong), I guess that was enough to warrant having this write-up.

Although my wife and daughter were concerned about having a late dinner, that prevented me from fully exploring the entire trail around the Natural Bridge.

That could have at least let me get a more top down look through the span as well as more looks at the cascading stream going right through it.

Instead, I wound up with partial views of the hard-to-see stream so the pictures I have on this post doesn’t do it justice.

Natural_Bridge_066_08012020 - We did the slightly longer trail to Natural Bridge from the Bridge Bay Marina off the northwestern shores of Yellowstone Lake
We did the slightly longer trail to Natural Bridge from the Bridge Bay Marina off the northwestern shores of Yellowstone Lake

In any case, our hike (more like a stroll) to the Natural Bridge was on the order of 2.8 miles round-trip, and it took us a leisurely 90 minutes.

Two Ways to Hike to Natural Bridge

It turned out that there were actually two different ways to hike to Natural Bridge.

We did our hike starting from the Bridge Bay Marina, which was near the Bridge Bay Campground by the northwestern shores of Yellowstone Lake.

The trail briefly went north from the Bridge Bay parking lot before skirting by the Bridge Bay Campground.

Natural_Bridge_062_08012020 - This was the line of rocks near the junction of the trail we took from Bridge Bay and the wider trail along Bridge Creek. Note the bear scratch on the bark of the nearby tree
This was the line of rocks near the junction of the trail we took from Bridge Bay and the wider trail along Bridge Creek. Note the bear scratch on the bark of the nearby tree

Then, the trail went southwest through a forested dirt path flanked by trees showing signs of bear scratches (where some bark had been scratched off).

After about 0.9 miles from the Bridge Bay Parking Lot, the trail then merged with a wider trail that seemed like a former road.

Anyways, the remainder of the hike was another half-mile, which meant doing the hike from the Bridge Bay Parking Lot meant that the overall out-and-back hiking distance was 2.8 miles.

There was a more straightforward trail that began opposite the Gull Point Drive, and it was pretty much along the aforementioned wide former road almost the entire way.

Natural_Bridge_019_08012020 - This was the wider (and mostly paved) road along Bridge Creek that was the main trail to the Natural Bridge. So it made sense why we saw people on bikes also approach the Natural Bridge in this manner
This was the wider (and mostly paved) road along Bridge Creek that was the main trail to the Natural Bridge. So it made sense why we saw people on bikes also approach the Natural Bridge in this manner

It was about a half-mile from the trailhead by Gull Point Drive to the trail junction with the Bridge Bay Trail discussed above.

If we add another 0.2-mile from the nearest parking area to the Bridge Creek Trailhead, then it would take 1.2 miles one-way to get to the Natural Bridge (or 2.4 miles round-trip).

By the way, we saw quite a few people on mountain bikes on this wider trail as it was wide enough and flat enough to support bikers.

From the Trail Junction to the Natural Bridge

The final half-mile between the trail junction and the Natural Bridge was pretty straightforward as it followed the wide former road before reaching a signed junction.

Natural_Bridge_041_08012020 - Julie and Tahia following the spur trail leading right up to the Natural Bridge
Julie and Tahia following the spur trail leading right up to the Natural Bridge

Going right at this junction brought us onto a narrower use-trail leading to the base of the Natural Bridge.

However, I did notice that this trail kept going up and around the right side of the Natural Bridge’s span.

Since I saw people standing behind the bridge’s span, I’d imagine that this was a sanctioned trail that looped around the span, and eventually rejoined the main Natural Bridge Trail.

Maybe next time we’re fortunate to do this trail again, I will take more time to more thoroughly explore the Natural Bridge and its cascade on Bridge Creek, while also exploring the shorter (and wider) trail.

Authorities

Natural Bridge resides in Yellowstone National Park near Cody in Park County, Wyoming. It is administered by the National Park Service. For information or inquiries about the park as well as current conditions, visit the National Park Service website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: natural bridge, yellowstone, wyoming, teton county, waterfall



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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