Hickman Bridge, an Easy Hike to a Beautiful Natural Bridge

Since Capitol Reef is on the way to North Wash, UT, we decided to make a quick stop there on one of our canyoneering trips to North Wash. With only a few hours to spare, the ranger that we met recommended the Hickman Bridge trail. Hickman Bridge is an iconic hike in Capitol Reef that leads you to an impressive natural bridge and beautiful desert landscapes. With only 1.8 miles round trip, the Hickman Bridge trail is also a great beginner and kid-friendly hike.

Note: Please make sure to respect this beautiful place and the surround areas. Always practice LEAVE NO TRACE. This means no loud music, no graffiti, no carving in sandstone walls and pack out what you pack in! Please help us protect this place for generations to come!

Stats

Where

Hickman Bridge Trailhead:
UT-24, Torrey, UT 84775

Coords:
38°17’19.5″N 111°13’39.6″W

Parking

Decent size, paved lot. You can also park on the side of the road. If you do, please make sure to park all the way off the road.

Restroom

There is restroom at the trailhead.

Fee

There is a fee to enter Capitol Reef National Park. Please visit the park’s website for updated info. You can also use your America the Beautiful Pass instead.

Distance

About 1.8 miles R.T.

Elevation Gain

About 400ft

Level

Easy/Moderate

Time:

1-2 hours

Pet-friendly

No dogs allowed on the trail.

Ideal Time

Springs and Falls for cooler weather. Mornings are best for lesser crowds. This trail can get very busy.

Weather

Video

Getting to Hickman Bridge Trailhead

Hickman Bridge trailhead is located right along Utah State Route 24. It is about 1.9 miles from the Capitol Reef Visitor Center and 0.8 miles from the Petroglyphs Panels. The parking lot for this trail is on the left if you’re coming from the visitor center. This is a fairly small parking lot, with about 16-17 parking spaces. Since Hickman Bridge is a popular trail, the lot can be filled up quite fast. However, it has a decent amount of turnover. Another alternative is to park on the side of the road down the street. If you decide to park here, please pay attention to oncoming traffic, and make sure to park your car all the way off the road. Also, please be careful when crossing the street.

Hiking to the Trail Junction

Even though we got to the parking lot of Hickman Bridge trailhead quite early, it was pretty full. So, we ended up parking just down the street. It was quite easy to find the trailhead. There is a big sign right in front of it. Since the trailhead for Hickman Bridge starts next to the Fremont River, it was such a beautiful start to the hike. Excitedly, we followed the sandy trail as it ran along UT-24 and up a few rocky staircases for a short distance. The trail quickly curves toward the left. This is where you’ll start to gain some elevation, about 120ft, through some decently steep switchbacks.

At 0.3 miles, we reached a trail junction. At this point, the trail splits to go to the more challenging hikes such as Rim Overlook and Navajo Knobs. Both Rim Overlook and Navajo Knobs are rated strenuous, with an elevation gain of at least 1,110 feet and gorgeous panoramic views of the area. Since we didn’t have enough time to do both, we decided to just stay with Hickman Bridge. To keep going to Hickman Bridge, we followed the arrow to go left (straight).

Getting to the Smaller Natural Bridge

It was a pleasant day when we started the hike. However, as we hiked along, the weather got a lot warmer. Unfortunately, there weren’t a lot of shades of this hike either. Also, after the junction, the trail keeps on going up. It follows the grassy field to the top of a small knob. From here, we can see the Capitol Dome on the right and the impressive Pectols Pyramid rising up on the left.

Soon, the Hickman Bridge trail drops down to a sandy wash dotted with junipers, pines, and sages then quickly climbs back up the side of a small canyon. As we hiked along, we noticed there were markers with numbers on them. At one of the markers, we saw a granary used by the Fremont people up in a high alcove on the right-hand side. Not too long after the granary, at mile 13, we noticed a really neat smaller natural bridge in the wash on the right. This is the Nels Johnson Bridge. It is a fun place to explore around for a bit before continuing on the hike.

Hickman Bridge

After we left the small natural bridge, we followed the trail to climb up a slick rock slope to get to the start of the loop section for the Hickman Bridge trail. We decided to go right toward the sandy wash. Slowly, Hickman Bridge came into view. At first, it was hard to tell where it was as the bridge camouflaged within the sandstone color landscape. However, as we got closer, we started to see the opening of the impressive 125ft tall natural bridge. Besides its height, Hickman Bridge also has a span of 133ft. This bridge is named after Joseph Hickman, a local educator and an advocate for the preservation of Capitol Reef as a National Park.

So what’s the difference between a bridge and an arch? A bridge crosses a watercourse such as a stream, river, or any body of flowing water, at least sporadically. An arch doesn’t have active water flowing underneath it. Both arches and bridges are formed mainly by water-based weathering and erosion. However, arches often form within the top of a rock alcove, while bridges often form from erosion from the constant flowing of water. Since Hickman Bridge was carved out by water, it is considered a natural bridge.

Hickman Bridge was way better than what we expected. It was crazy to see how strong the force of nature was to carve out this massive archway. As we got closer, the bridge got even more impressive. After taking tons of photos, we continued to follow the trail to go under the arch. We didn’t get very far as Dustin couldn’t stop taking photos of the bridge from all different angles.

The Other Side of the Loop

Once we passed under the arch, the trail went toward the left. We made the mistake of following a worn path to the right. It didn’t go very far. We eventually found our way back to the actual trail to a beautiful overlook. We recommend taking some time to enjoy this panoramic view of the Fremont Valley at this overlook. The views here are breathtaking, a great addition to the view of the Hickman Bridge.

After taking a short break at the overlook, we found our way back to the main trail and headed back to the car. Hickman Bridge is such a gorgeous hike with many interesting features and unique formations. After being here, we can see why it is so popular. Since we had such a short amount of time at Capitol Reef, we only got to do a few things. Both of us couldn’t wait to go back and spend more time on Hickman Bridge and at Capitol Reef in general.

These are the gear that we personally use and find them helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.