Tower Ruin

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 10 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 4915 - 5084 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 5 hrs.
Trailhead: Salt Creek
Fee: $30/vehicle
Attractions: Ruins, pictographs, natural bridges

 

Tower Ruin is located in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park near Monticello, Utah. The attractive cliff dwelling type ruin can be found in a deep alcove in a side branch of Horse Canyon. Along the way to the ruin visitors are also treated to a couple of natural bridges, one aptly named Paul Bunyan's Potty that has another small ruins tucked away beneath an overhang, as well as a good number of painted hand pictographs that are also nearby. (During the winter months when the pay stations is closed the $30/vehicle fee is waved and admission is free.)

Juanita Arch

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 4.8 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 4658 - 5121 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 5 hrs.
Trailhead: Highway 141 MM 101
Fee: none
Attractions: Scenic canyon, natural bridge

Juanita Arch is located in Maverick Canyon near the town of Gateway, Colorado. The scenic arch is actually a large natural bridge that spans a branch of the canyon. Getting to the arch from Highway 141 requires crossing the Dolores River either by wading or with a canoe or raft. Near the midpoint of the trail hikers must also deal with a narrow section of trail that has a drop off of 50-100 feet. Other than that Maverick Canyon is a beautiful place to hike among the towering redrock cliffs that draw visitors to the Gateway area.

Bench Trail

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 5-8 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 4780 - 5499 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 3 hrs.
Trailhead: Wildwood/White Rocks
Fee: none
Attractions: Scenic, natural bridge, bighorn

The Bench trail is a backcountry route that is located in the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, Colorado. On its south end the trail begins off of the Liberty Cap trail where it travels along a bench that was created as the softer layers of sandstone eroded away above a much harder layer of dark precambrian granite. After a little more than 3 miles the trail reaches Gold Star Canyon where there are several options available for descending off of the bench to the White Rocks Area trailhead. From there it is possible to loop back to the Wildwood trailhead by following a social trail along the old buffalo fence that outlines much of the Monument's eastern border.

Covered Wagon Natural Bridge

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 0.4 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 5747 - 5812 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 30 mins.
Trailhead: Cedar Wash Road
Fee: none
Attractions: Natural bridge

The Covered Wagon Natural Bridge is located along the Cedar Wash Road in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument south of the town of Escalante, Utah. The picturesque little bridge spans a tributary branch of Alvey Wash. The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument covers nearly 1.9 million acres of public land. Over 1000 natural bridges and arches can be found within its boundaries.

Escalante Natural Bridge

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 3.5 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 5194 - 5261 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 1 hr. 45 mins.
Trailhead: Escalante River
Fee: none
Attractions: Natural bridge and arch

Escalante Natural Bridge is located between Boulder and Escalante, Utah in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The trail is an easy hike that crosses the Escalante River four times before reaching its destination. Most of the time the water is only ankle deep at the crossings but during spring runoff and after summer thunderstorms it can be much deeper.