Hiking Natural Bridge Trail | Hikes in Chiricahua National Monument

Hiking Natural Bridge Trail is a great hike in Chiricahua National Monument to find solitude and wander through the beautiful wilderness. This hike is less sought out by visitors hiking in Chiricahua National Monument. And for this one, the magic is in the journey with a simple treat at the end. If you’re not scared of putting in the miles to appreciate the wild and scenic allure of this trail then hiking Natural Bridge Trail is for you! Oh, and the water carved natural bridge formation that the trail is named after is a worthwhile destination thanks to the beauty of the trail that leads to it.

Quick Info:

Distance: 4.8 miles roundtrip

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Directions: From the entrance of Chiricahua National Monument, continue on E. Bonita Canyon Road for 3.4 miles. Park in the small turnout on the left and begin hiking Natural Bridge Trail.

Good to Know: On the NPS trail description it mentions that the area was recently burned in 2011. When we first read this, we thought it a bit of a deterrent. But after hiking Natural Bridge Trail we thought it was worth mentioning that yes there are some burnt tree trunks along the way but the recovery is quite beautiful. This area is not charred or depressing and in our opinion it is a worthwhile and scenic hike!

Our Experience Hiking Natural Bridge Trail

After doing a couple other hikes in the park, we ended our day hiking Natural Bridge Trail. The trail begins in the trees and climbs up North Bonita Canyon. Already this trail felt wild with a beautiful diversity of plants thriving along the way.

The views changed as we climbed, exposing more of the rocks in the distance behind us. Then after the four hundred foot climb up through the canyon, the trail leveled out a bit at the top of a ridge. We found this section to be gorgeous too! The sun shining through the tops of the golden grass was beautiful with pretty panoramic views.

Hike it Later – Pin it Now

Then unexpectedly, the trail descended back into another canyon full of vegetation. There was a mix of shrubs, cacti and trees near the washes. It felt wild and lush back here. We kept looking for signs of wildlife because it didn’t feel like many people came back here but we didn’t spot anything.

Before we knew it, we reached the End of Trail. And we spotted the natural bridge in the rocks across the way. Luckily the sun was still shining on the rocks and the shadow that the bridge created helped the formation to stand out a bit.

And from there we headed back the way we came with new sun angles falling across the scenery.

The Chiricahua National Monument hiking trail description mentioned that this was one of the least visited trail in the park. And sure enough we had the trail to ourselves the entire time and didn’t see another human on our way in or out.

Thanks for Reading!

If you would like to read about some more of our adventures, check out the links below:

• Rattlesnake Canyon Hike in Joshua Tree
• Red Mountain Trail: Hoodoos and Volcanism
• Backpacking Missouri and Fancy Pass Loop
• Amazing Volcanism from Warner Valley Trailhead

When we’re not adventuring, we’re working on our hand painted Lost Coast Longboarding longboards! To check out our latest lineup, head over to our Lost Coast Longboarding Shop. We also design and screen print our own t-shirts!

And if you’d like to show your support for The Lost Longboarder another way – whenever you shop on Amazon, just use our Amazon link to get to Amazon. Then shop as you normally would! It won’t change your shopping experience but it helps us out a bit. We appreciate it!