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Submission
The main trailhead takes you to the natural bridge and some ancient structures high up on the cliff. There is another less visible trail behind the parking lot that takes you up to some amazing petroglyphs and a view of the valley. The natural bridge hike takes you across the river a few times and it is so fun. Parking is free and the lot is small so you might have to park put on the street and walk in.
Beautiful and easy to follow (three mile one way) trail.
A natural land bridge, ancient cliff dwellings, and an arch are destinations whilst moving through a river canyon amongst red rock walls.
Multiple river crossings without opportunities for rock hopping will get your feet wet. Some wear water shoes but most just go for it.
First day hike is great, leads to a sweet arch. We came for the whole 15 mile trail and backpacked it, which I wouldn’t recommend to anyone unless they’re cool with bushwhacking and following the river the entire way. The trail was unkempt and at times impossible to follow. Bring water shoes and, if you’re backpacking during monsoon season, a way to let the silty water sit so your filter doesn’t get clogged.
There are great hikes along the Escalante River. Heading east (downstream) required multiple river crossings and bushwhacking---the trail is reasonably overgrown and would benefit from some hand clippers. There are even some lightly scratchy wild roses that we had to walk through on one portion, though they smelled wonderful!
Beautiful stream side hike. I went in October, seems like it would be very hot in summer. Fairly easy hike to natural bridge and arch. Some type of river sandal/shoes would work well as there are multiple stream crossings.
