Arches NP - Hike to Morning Glory Bridge

Hi Blog!

Today was our day to scout out Arches National Park in Utah. We are currently parked in Grand Junction, Colorado. It is about a two hour drive from here to Arches. We would have liked to camp closer to the park, but we are working our way south to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta. We know we will be back in this area next year, so we wanted to gather as much information as we could while we were here. We also wanted to get in a hike and see an arch or two.

We headed West on I-70 and then south on US 191. It wasn't long after leaving the interstate that the red rock formations began to appear and so did the traffic. This is definitely the longest park entrance line we've been in this year.

Surprisingly, there were still plenty of parking places at the Visitor Center. We arrived just in time to watch a great park video on the formation of the arches. After chatting with a park ranger and getting all sorts of ideas for hikes, we decided to have lunch before heading off to the trailhead. This was the view from our picnic table.

After poring over maps and trail descriptions and considering the massive amount of vehicles coming into the park, we decided to hike to the Morning Glory Natural Bridge located just six miles outside the park entrance on BLM land. Our friends, Beverly and Alan Tackman, had recently done this hike and raved about it. When we arrived at the trailhead parking lot and found enough room to park Great White, we were doubly glad we picked this hike.

We followed the trail up Negro Bill Canyon which was named after William Granstaff, a black prospector and rancher who grazed his cattle here during the late 1800s. A perennial stream winds its way down toward the Colorado River providing green shady areas.

The trail is laid out before us as we work our way up the canyon.

As we looked back down the canyon, the trailhead parking lot had disappeared.

The Navajo Sandstone towers above us.

We cross the stream over and over again.

We soon leave the stream behind and follow the trail up a steep slope into a side canyon. At the end of the canyon, we get our first glimpse of Morning Glory Natural Bridge.

Morning Glory is the sixth largest natural bridge in the United States. It's span is 243 feet. Now you may be wondering what the difference is between an arch and a natural bridge. Well, a natural bridge is an arch formed by a current of water, such as a stream.

Here Kathy stands next to a very tiny trickle of water coming right out of the canyon wall. It's hard to believe that this tiny seep once flowed so forcefully that it created this natural bridge.

We met another couple at the trails end that asked us to take their photo. Turns out, they were married hanging under the natural bridge. They apparently climbed up and rapelled halfway down, hanging in midair, where the preacher performed the ceremony dangling from a climbing harness. They come back every year to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They were kind enough to take our photo reflected in the pool under the bridge.

The arch is so large, it was difficult to get it all in one frame. Here Kathy stands under the natural bridge for scale.

Having reached the end of the road, it was time to turn back down the canyon. We had still managed to find a few things we missed on the way up, like this really cool round rock island.

We also noticed this arch in waiting. Just think, in a few thousand years there may be another arch in this canyon.

After finishing our hike, we decided to take Utah State Route 128 back to the interstate. The entire length of the highway has been designated the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway. SR128 begins just north of Moab and follows the southern bank of the Colorado River through a narrow, steep gorge, described as spectacular by National Geographic. We would have to agree with that description as we found it one of the most scenic drives we have taken to date. We look forward to coming back next year and exploring more of this area.