My Visit To Tonto Natural Bridge

Have you ever been to Tonto Natural Bridge? Let me ask a better question... Have you ever heard of Tonto Natural Bridge?

If you said "No" to one or both of those questions you are not alone... I had not heard of it or been there before this last weekend. 

What is Tonto Natural Bridge?

It is a large arch, that is located in Arizona, just north of the town of Payson. It is believed to be the largest travertine bridge in world. It stands 183 feet tall, 150 feet wide, and is about 400 feet long.

What is a travertine bridge?

According to Wikipedia, a travertine bridge is defined as:

"a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot spring or in a limestone cave."

Some history 

The first recorded document about the discovery of the natural bridge comes from David Gowan in 1877. He was hiding from a hostile group of Indians and stumbled upon the arch. He was so impressed by the site that he persuaded his family to move out there with him. Family members continued to live there up until about 1948. The original lodge they built still survives to this day and is included in the National Register of Historic Places.

The @jrcornel family decides to take a visit!

My family and I decided we would visit Tonto Natural Bridge while out on our camping trip this past weekend in Tonto National Forest. Here are some of the pictures we took below:

This was from the first scenic view point. We would later hike down into the canyon and see it close up.

This is a picture of the surrounding country side. My dad is convinced it is mountain lion country but we didn't happen to see any. The guide told us there are lions, and bears there frequently though.

Some of the unique formations outside of the tunnel.

Our view after we hiked down in the canyon, looking back up.

This picture doesn't really do justice to the size of the arch. That water below is easily 10 feet deep and those boulders are 4X the size of me as a frame of reference...

This was the view from the other side. Not sure if you can tell, but there is a nice little water fall coming off the top of the arch falling down to the bottom below.

This was the view from standing on top of the arch and looking out at the canyon below. It really was beautiful.

All the pictures were taken with my smartphone so please excuse the lack of professionalism. I hope you were able to get an idea of what the scenery looked like though.

I hope you are able to make it out there and see it sometime for yourself. It is very beautiful and like I mentioned, my pictures don't fully do it justice. My only complaint is that they wouldn't let me fish in that stream running through the bottom of it ;)

Live well my friends!

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonto_Natural_Bridge

All images used in this post are my own. Feel free to use them.

Follow: @jrcornel