Natural arches and bridges are fascinating formations, and there are thousands of them in the U.S. alone, from massive to too small to squeeze under. In fact, we have a national park (Arches) and a national monument (Natural Bridges) named for them.
While most of the best-known formations are in Utah, several other states have them as well. Following is a guide to some of the best of them.
And in case you’re wondering, whether a formation is an arch or a bridge depends on how it was formed. Water erosion creates natural bridges, and erosion from wind and sand creates arches.
Keyhole Arch– Pfeiffer Beach, California
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Pfeiffer Beach, a coastal site in the Big Sur region known for its purple sand, also features huge rock outcrops just offshore, and the rough Pacific surf pounds against them constantly. Over the eons, the waves have carved a hole through one outcrop– Keyhole Arch. Now, didn’t we just say water forms natural bridges, not arches? Well, almost all sea arches are called just that. Why don’t we know? Maybe it’s because they usually stand alone rather than being a bridge between two things.
Horsehead Arch– Blodgett Canyon, Montana
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Blodgett Canyon is a spectacular canyon in the Bitterroots just west of Hamilton, and the trail through it is mostly easy. Just before you cross Blodgett Creek on a bridge, look high and left for this granite arch way up on the canyon rim. Seeing the arch is easy, but seeing it up close is hard. It requires 1800’ of elevation gain straight up steep slopes of boulders and talus to reach the base.
Ayres Natural Bridge– Ayres Natural Bridge Park, Wyoming
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Not many people outside the region have ever heard of this natural bridge. It’s east of Cody in an area that doesn’t see much tourist traffic, and this limestone natural bridge is 50’ high and 100’ long with the creek that carved it flowing under it.
Lexington Arch– Great Basin National Park, Nevada
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As you drive into this remote national park, you think it’s all about mountains. Then you hear about the caverns here. And then you hear about Lexington Arch, a limestone span that some geologists believe may actually be a natural bridge.
Landscape Arch– Arches National Park, Utah
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The longest natural arch in North America and one of the longest in the world, this arch in the Devils Garden area is 306’ at its widest. It also seems impossibly thin and fragile, another good reason it’s illegal to walk across the tops of the arches here.
Turret Arch– Arches National Park, Utah
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Turret Arch is one of 4 major arches in the park’s Window’s area, and all are easy to see from both the road and the trail. What makes Turret so cool is the point spire that’s attached to it, giving it its name.
Double Arch– Arches National Park, Utah
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Also in the Windows area, this huge and aptly named arch is a short walk from the road, and you can hike up into the opening beneath it and peer over the other side. This oft-photographed arch was featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade during the young Indiana Jones scenes at the start of the film.
Delicate Arch– Arches National Park, Utah
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Probably the most famous natural arch in the world, Delicate Arch is also Utah’s state symbol and featured on many of its license plates. A moderate hike gets you to the classic overlook of the arch’s opening framing the La Sal Mountains. This scene is best at sunset and when the mountains have snow on them.
Angel Arch– Canyonlands National Park, Utah
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It’s a long hike up a dry desert wash in the park’s Needles District to get here, but you’ll be glad once you do. This huge arch rises like a skyscraper, and well-named Molar Rock in the foreground just makes the scene better.
Sipapu Bridge– Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah
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The loop trail here leads to and under three natural bridges– Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachamo. Sipapu is just our personal favorite, you should do the full loop to see all three bridges so that you can decide for yourself which you like best.
Rainbow Bridge– Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Utah
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Rainbow Bridge is one of the longest and largest natural bridges in the world. If you want to see it, you can go by ferry from the Arizona side of Lake Powell or save money (but not sweat) by making a very long hike in.
East Rim Arch– Rattlesnake Canyon, Utah
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A spur road off Rim Rock Drive in Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction is the start of the journey here, and that driving journey requires high clearance and, preferably, four-wheel drive. Rattlesnake Canyon has 9 natural arches, and a loop trail that starts by descending through one of them lets you see them. This is another case of our picking a favorite but encouraging you to see them all to decide for yourself.
Natural Bridge– Natural Bridge State Park, Virginia
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Created by an underground stream flowing through a cave that later collapsed, this has been a national landmark since pre-Revolutionary and pre-Colonial times. Thomas Jefferson once owned this limestone natural bridge, and it’s long been a popular public attraction.
Natural Bridge– Red River Gorge Geologic Area, Kentucky
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The Red River Gorge area features a bullet-hard sandstone very much unlike the softer Western sandstone we think of with places like Arizona and Utah. This natural bridge is 65’ high and has a span of 78’, again showing that not all of our remarkable natural arches and bridges are in the West.
Holei Sea Arch– Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawai’i
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The Chain of Craters Road descends from rainforest to (cooled) lava flows to an area of ancient petroglyphs and finally to sheer cliffs above the furious surf of the Pacific Ocean. That’s where you’ll find Holei Sea Arch, which technically could still be a bridge since one side connects to the mainland. Anyway, since we started this article with a sea arch, we thought it made sense to close it with one.
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