Rainbow Bridge NM
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General information about the National Monument
The National Monument protects the area around the largest stone bridge in the world. The bridge has a span of 82m and a height of 88m.
Number of visitors
Best time to visit: This place is beautiful all year round.
Our visits:
So far 1 visit: October 2018
Entrance fees and opening hours
- Admission is free, however you are in the Glen Canyon NRA area, which has an entrance fee.
- Covered by the Anual Pass*
- Open 24h all year round.
*The Anual Pass is so to speak the "flat rate" for all Parks managed by the National Park Service. The pass costs a one-time fee of $80 and can be purchased at the entrance to each National Park, National Monument, etc. The pass is valid for 13 months.
Rainbow Bridge
Description: The Rainbow Bridge is located on the territory of the Glen Canyon NRA. Basically there are two ways to reach the Rainbow Bridge. On the one hand the way by hiking for several days and on the other hand the way by boat across Lake Powell. There are also two possibilities. One is to rent a boat and the other is to take a tour boat. We chose the latter option and took a tour boat to Rainbow Bridge in October 2018. Depending on the water level in Lake Powell, this is a half or full day tour. For us, the 48.5mi trip to Rainbow Bridge took 3 hours. At the moment (October 2018) the tour costs $126.23/person. The current conditions can be seen on the Homepage of the commercial provider. ADAC members get a discount.
Drive with the tour boat: Since it was not possible to drive the shortcut at Castle Rock in October because of the low water level, we had to accept the longer drive across the Colorado. The drive through Glen Canyon is quite varied and since we didn't have to drive ourselves, we could concentrate on the passing landscape.
Hike Description: The hike to the Rainbow Bridge is very easy, because there is a well-maintained path. Recently, you can now also get to the other side of the bridge. Here there is also a signposted, well-maintained path to the largest natural stone arch in the world.
Trail length: approx. 2.2mi roundtrip
Altitude difference: approx. 230ft
Time needed: 1,5 Stunden
Difficulty level: easy
Our rating: Great full day trip across Lake Powell. The disadvantage to the guided tour is that you only have 1.5 hours at the Rainbow Bridge. This is very short, because you have to hike a mile to the bridge. If you also want to enjoy the scenery a little, there is very little time to linger at the bridge. We found this to be a real disadvantage. On our next visit we plan to visit with our own (house)boat to simply have more time. The bridge is very impressive and worth a visit in any case.
