The World's Largest Travertine Bridge

Oxbow RV Park

Payson, AZ

October 12, 2022

Beeline Highway/SR 87 begins just north of Mesa to Payson and up and over the Mazatzal Mountains.  It is so named because it makes a "beeline" to the high country.  It's a beautiful  curvy drive as the saguaros give way to the ponderosa pines.

 

Yippee...when you look at the calendar and realize you have a two week window with nothing planned before appointments you don't want to reschedule.  It's a road trip !  Close to home works and a new to us adventure is awesome. Reservations were made, shorts and t-shirts packed along with other essentials, and we were out the door early Monday morning.  Our destination was Payson, AZ.  Did you know that Payson is home to the world's largest natural travertine bridge...right here in our home state of Arizona.  Sounds pretty impressive to me and since exploring our home state has been on my radar that sounded like a great place to start. 

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park opened and was dedicated an Arizona state park in 1991.  It is a beautiful, well planned little park and was a nice surprise.  There are several large parking lots with accessibility to a paved walking path to view the bridge from the top and there are several hiking trails to take to view the bridge up close.  

The hiking trails are steep and rocky as they traverse down into the valley.  We chose two trails knowing that what goes down, has to go up.  First, was Waterfall Trail to get our legs and lungs working...short and steep.  

The waterfall had a nice steady trickle (enough for us to get wet as we walked by) and the maidenhair ferns and moss were so pretty and green.  

The trail, about 0.2 mile ends at waterfall cave.

Next, we walked the paved path to the Gowan Trail.  David Gowan stumbled upon the natural bridge when hiding from the Apaches back in 1877.  He hid there for three days in one of the several caves inside the bridge's interior.  

The Gowan Trail is only a mile round trip...it's steep and rough with big rocks (to challenge those of us with short legs), with smaller rocks that think they are marbles, and in a few places developed steps.  

Can you see the bridge?

At the end of the trail is an observation deck.  It has a kazillion steps to reach the platform and Joe opted not to go.  

The rocks underneath the bridge are quite slippery and I found myself scooting across the huge boulders on the right side of the photo below.  

The pools under the bridge had a nice flow of water...

and it was "raining" !

It is hard to comprehend that this beautiful piece of nature's art was millions of years in the making and can be explored in a shady canyon known today as the Pine Creek Canyon.  Nature definitely has a way of providing us with mouth dropping pieces of art like the natural bridge with its smooth and rough textures and golden colors of honey and ivory.     

The sheer size is mouth dropping too.  The bridge stands at 183 feet high over a 400-foot long tunnel that measures 150 feet at its widest point...way to big for this photo to show.

We did finish the paved walking path to view points 3 and 4 to stand on top of the bridge and see it from above.

Looking down on the observation platform I had been on earlier...also a glimpse of the trail top right corner of photo.

Tonto Natural Bridge from the top...

Goodfellow Lodge (listed on the National Register of Historic Places) was built in the 1920s.  Back in the day, folks could stay there in one of 10 furnished bedrooms and have use of a furnished kitchen, dining room, and outdoor veranda.  Today, it serves as the park's visitor center and gift shop.

Aside from exploring the world's largest natural travertine bridge, it is worth mentioning that this little park is possibly the cleanest and most well maintained state park we have ever visited.  There is plenty of parking even on a busy day (which we were spared), several spotless,  odor free, and stocked with paper and hand sanitizer restrooms, informative signage and directions, and friendly, knowledgeable rangers...all a huge plus for us !  If you are in the area and haven't been, consider adding it to your "lets go there" list...I am glad we did !

We made one last stop before heading home.  A snickers blizzard for me and a DQ cone for Joe.

  

Up next...a national monument.  Until then,

HAPPY TRAILS!