Concealed Bridge, Herdina Park, Arches National Park, Moab, Utah, 2025 Spring Arch Rally, Natural Arch and Bridge Society, March 10, 2025

 We attended the 2025 Spring Arch Rally by the Natural Arch and Bridge Society centered around Moab, Utah. The rally was held from Saturday, March 8th to Saturday, March 15th.

On our third day of hiking, our host David Alexander took us to the Herdina Park area of Arches National Park. One of the several natural rock spans that we saw on this hike was this one called Concealed Bridge. To get to it we had to duck under an overhang of sandstone before reaching a dryfall, or pouroff, This span  was on the edge of a pothole.

The span of this arch is 9.5 feet and the height is 10 feet and is listed as a waterfall-type natural bridge.

Remember it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Natural Bridge Falls and Boulder River panorama

Natural Bridge Falls is located in Montana as part of a National Forest Day Use Area. A natural bridge above the waterfall gave the area its name. The original bridge collapsed in 1988, but the stream flows through an underground passage that still qualifies as a natural bridge. It's just much less obvious.

This picture shows the Boulder River emerging from the passage below the brink of the falls and then continuing downstream in a wide meander. During high water, the river will flow over the falls and through the passage. 

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

A small waterfall and natural bridge in the Tuolumne River, Yosemite National Park, California

 This is the Tuolumne River near the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge and is along the John Muir Trail.  This feature is called the Green Pool.  The river flows over this small waterfall and into a pool that is some 8 to 10 feet deep at its deepest.  The granite arm along the right edge of the photo actually forms a natural bridge.  Notice the rocky streambed and the opening in this granite arm in the lower left of center in the second photo.  This is the third natural rock span that we know of in Yosemite National Park.  We've posted photos of those other rock spans earlier in our photo gallery.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Granite arch in Yosemite, along Chilnualna Creek, Wawona area

During a backpacking trip in Yosemite during the second week of June, 2018, we were headed out on the last day along Chilnualna Creek and visited this natural arch. We had already found it years ago during a trip to this area. We think it was formed from a pothole in the granite that eroded downward until it broke through the bottom of a ledge. By estimating the size with Bob's tripod, we determined that the opening was about 1.5 meters or about 4 feet across. That puts it in the "minor" arch category, but still, an arch made of granite is a rare thing. We first approached the arch from the side of the creek where the trail runs along, but we took these pictures after crossing the creek upstream from this spot and positioning ourselves to see the maximum opening possible.

This was the third day of a loop backpacking trip we took along the Alder Creek trail and looping clockwise to come out by the Chilnualna Falls and cascades, which are dramatic in their own right. We really took our time in this area, almost 4 hours, before heading down the trail which loses about 2000 feet (610 meters) in elevation to the trailhead where we parked the car.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Owachomo Natural Bridge from near Zeke's Bathtub

This is Owachomo Bridge in Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah.  This monument was set aside in 1908 to protect three magnificent natural bridges and they can be viewed along a one-way scenic loop road.  Owachomo is the third bridge along the road and is the most photogenic and thinnest of the three.  It's also the easiest one to hike to, both because it's the shortest distance from the road and because it has the least amount of elevation change to get to and from.

The pool in the foreground is called Zeke's Bathtub after Ezekiel "Zeke" Johnson, the national monument's first superintendent.

Owachomo spans 180 feet, is 106 feet high, 27 feet wide, and is only 9 feet thick.  Because of its thinness, it's considered to be a very old natural bridge.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Sipapu Natural Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah

Sipapu Natural Bridge in Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah.

According to the Natural Arch and Bridge Society, Sipapu is the 13th largest rock span in the world with a span of about 225 feet and a height of about 144 feet.

This is the first of the three meander-type natural bridges that visitors encounter along the loop road in Natural Bridges National Monument.  The bridge is visible from a viewpoint at a pullout along the road, but visitors can also hike a trail down to the bridge itself.  The roundtrip hike is only 1.2 miles, but hikers lose and then gain back 600 feet of elevation and have to climb a couple of ladders.

This photo is from a long ledge along the trail that affords a great view of just how big the opening under this arc of rock is.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.