It is tucked away in a tiny valley in the middle of a forest of pinon and juniper trees high in the mountains. It was documented in 1877 by David Gowan, a prospector who stumbled across the bridge as he was chased by Apaches. Gowan hid for two nights and three days in one of the several caves which dot the inside of the bridge. On the third day, he left the cave to explore the tunnel and green valley surrounding it. Later he returned and claimed the valley as a homestead. After changing hands several times, it was bought as a state park in 1991.
The bridge is believed to be the largest natural travertine bridge in the world. It stands 183 feet high over a 400 foot long tunnel that measures 150 feet at its widest point. We hiked down the trail all the way to the bottom (I was pretty proud of myself!). Fortunately it was a cool day and we were able to take our time. The valley itself is beautiful and then you come upon this incredible structure!
Unfortunately this spectacular bridge is not well known nor well publicized. The docents said they almost get more visitors from Australia, Germany and other countries then they do from the US. The foreigner come with great descriptions in their guidebooks while we could not find more than a sentence mentioning it in any tourist information!
Tonto National Bridge State Park is on the list of 13 state parks that the State of Arizona is planning to close in March of 2010 as part of their budget cuts....
Amazing! So sad they are going to close the park. Would people still be able to hike in there?
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