Rainbow Bridge Trail - Visiting Rainbow Bridge the Old Way

Tsé'naa Na'ní'áhí. Rainbow Bridge stands 290 feet tall and is among the largest natural rock spans in the world. It truly is a sight to behold.

Southeastern Utah's Rainbow Trail is a forgotten trail.

Although known to natives in the Four Corners region for generations, Rainbow Bridge was not known to the modern world until Paiute guides led the Cummings-Douglass Expedition to the bridge in August of 1909. Less than one year later on May 30, 1910, President Howard Taft created Rainbow Bridge National Monument. Stories and images of the the massive sandstone span soon piqued the interest of many well-to-do adventurers.

Two trails that traverse the dark canyons and bare-rock deserts of the Rainbow Plateau emerged that lead to the bridge. The original Wetherill Trail, now known as the North Rainbow Bridge Trail, starts near Cha Canyon and skirts approximately 15 miles (reported distances vary--NPS guide states it's 17.5 miles long) across the northern shoulder of Navajo Mountain. In the early 1920s, the Rainbow Lodge Trail, now known as the South Rainbow Bridge Trail, was cut about 13 miles (NPS lists 17 miles--although I didn't GPS my trip, I estimated about 13 mi) across the southwestern shoulder of Navajo mountain to the bridge.

The well-built trails were intended for pack animals, and were used by many well-known explorers and artists.  President Teddy Roosevelt traveled by horseback across the North Trail in 1913. Zane Grey made his first of many trips to Rainbow Bridge in 1913 as well, and would later write the novel "Rainbow Trail" as a tribute to his adventures to Rainbow Bridge. Much later, in the early 1960s, Ed Abbey visited Rainbow Bridge, although he did so during a Colorado River rafting trip. More recently, author Jon Krakauer spent some time exploring canyons along the Rainbow Trail.

Teddy Roosevelt on the trail to Rainbow Bridge in 1913. NPS photo.

Rainbow Trail usage started to drop by the 1950s when tour-boat operators began motoring people up the Colorado River from Lee's Ferry. And since the construction of Glen Canyon Dam and subsequent filling of Lake Powell starting in 1963, The Rainbow Bridge Trail has become forgotten to all, save the occasional backpacker, as tourists can now see Rainbow Bridge effortlessly after a 2-hour jet boat ride from Wahweap Marina near Page.

But there is so much more to the Rainbow Bridge Trail than just Rainbow Bridge. The trail accesses some of the most beautiful desert terrain the Colorado Plateau has to offer. The trail dips in and out of several entrenched, well-watered canyons that are, alone, more than worthy of extended exploration. Well-preserved Anasazi ruins, petroglyphs, and pictographs can be found by the alert explorer. These ancient traces of the Old Ones are an interesting contrast to more recent Navajo hogans and ceremonial sweat lodges near the trail today. Massive distant mesas (Cummings, and Fifty-Mile- Mountain are most notable) create broken skylines that are a requisite backdrop to classic Southwest desert vistas. And to top it all off, literally, the snow-capped and pine-studded Navajo Mountain tickles the heavens at over 10,000 feet.

10,387-foot Navajo Mountain (Naatsis’áán or "head of the earth") rises above tortured slickrock country near the Utah-Arizona border. The sedimentary rocks exposed on Navajo Mountain have been arched upward by surging magma as part of a laccolithic intrusion. Unlike other laccoliths in the region, such as the Henry Mountains or Pine Valley Mountains, the igneous rocks remain underground and have yet to be exposed by erosion.

Combined (the North and South trails share the final 2.5 miles to Rainbow Bridge in Bridge Canyon), the Rainbow Bridge Trail is nearly 30 miles long. Twenty miles of dirt and paved roads connect the two trailheads, making a total circumnavigation of Navajo Mountain nearly 50 miles long.

Detailed trail descriptions and trip reports of the Rainbow Bridge Trail are few and hard to find. Many have completed two- to four-day backpack trips along either the North or South trail to Rainbow Bridge. Some do so as a one-way trip to the bridge and then hop on a hired boat to take them to Wahweap.  Some have sped-hiked one of the trails as an out-and-back to the bridge in a single day. Michael Kelsey once hiked the South Trail to the bridge and back in 11 hours. Recently, a couple of smaller ultra-marathons have utilized the Rainbow Trail. The Naatsisaan Trail Ultra is a 50-mile out-and-back on the North Trail, and the Rainbow Bridge Trail Ultra is a 55k out-and-back on the South Trail. Both races are supported.

But I have yet to hear about someone completing the whole ~30-mile trail, unsupported, in a single day. I'd be pretty surprised if nobody has already accomplished this. Long, iconic routes such as the 48-mile Trans-Zion and the Grand Canyon's 42-mile Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim, both formerly completed as multi-day backpack trips, are now regularly knocked off in a day by ultra-runners on any given weekend. If you know of someone who has already ran the entire Rainbow Bridge Trail in a day, let me know. Until then, I can dream that I was the first!

I'd been planning a single-day circumnavigation of Navajo Mountain for about 10 years or so.  In early March, the timing and weather were right, and I finally pulled the trigger. After picking up my Navajo backcountry permit near Page, I drove to the Rainbow Lodge (South Trailhead) and found a place to stash my bike. I then found my way over to the North Trailhead (Cha Canyon), having to stop a couple of times to repair the road (shove boulders off the road, repair washed-out sections with a shovel--the usual stuff).

The moonless night was dead quiet, save the occasional yipping of coyotes. My alarm sounded at 4:30 am, and by 5, I was plunging into Cha Canyon with my bike light in hand.

Dawn breaks in Bald Rock Canyon, with Navajo Mountain in the far distance. The steep, cleverly constructed trail dropping down the east rim of Bald Rock Canyon was a highlight. Here, I'm about 3.5 miles in and have already dipped in and out of Cha Canyon in the dark. While exiting Cha, I spooked up a group of large, hoofed animals--wild horses or Burros, I don't know as it was still too dark to see.  

Another look at the impressive Bald Rock Canyon. This canyon begged for more exploration, but I had to keep pressing on.

Sun and sky dazzle along the slickrock benches between Bald Rock and Nasja Canyons.

Slickrock canyon country as far as the eye can see.

Iron concretions along the Rainbow Trail.

The only thing "surprising" here was the location of this sign. As far as I can tell, this sign is placed a good half mile before the trail actually drops into Surprise Valley near Nasja Creek.

A rare flat section of the Rainbow Trail near Nasja Creek. Heavy snow pack on Navajo Mountain ensured plenty of cool, clear water in all major drainages.

Whimsical Navajo glyphs near Surprise Valley. I succumbed to my curiosity here and spent about 45 minutes off-trail exploring up into a side drainage of Surprise Valley.

Owl Bridge just past Surprise Valley.

Weathered cross-beds where the trail crosses a fork of Oak Canyon.

One of about five traditional hogans that I noticed close to the trail. The remote canyons surrounding Navajo Mountain served as critical refuge for a small group of Navajos that managed to avoid the inhumane capture and incarceration by the U.S. Government starting in 1863. Kit Carson destroyed water holes, stole livestock, and burned hogans and crops, forcing the starving Navajo to surrender. This culminated in the infamous 300-mile "Long Walk" to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico. Many died of exposure, disease, or starvation along the walk and at the prison camp. 

The simple life of the Diné.

A precariously balanced rock hangs over Oak Creek Canyon.

The Rainbow Trail was first developed in the 1910s and 1920s and improved by the CCC in the 1930s. But the trail has largely been neglected since the creation of Lake Powell. Starting in 2014, Canyonlands Field Institute and the Utah Conservation Corps began making trail improvements with hopes to increase tourism to this remote and economically depressed part of Navajo Nation.

Another hogan along the Rainbow Trail.

Scrambling down a narrow crease toward Bridge Canyon. This section of the trail is known as "the furnace" during warmer months.

The meandering Bridge Canyon. With a clear stream, varnish-streaked walls, riparian vegetation, and dark alcoves, Bridge Canyon is reminiscent of the canyons of the Escalante country north of Lake Powell.

Bridge Canyon.

At times the route devolves into boulder hopping in the creek, but for the most part, a well-defined path leads the way. While I took a GPS for backup, I don't recall ever having to use it for navigation.

Echo Camp was a popular camp spot for early commercial trips to Rainbow Bridge.

Large alcove and permanently-filled plunge pool above Echo Camp.

These odd three-pronged impressions on a boulder near Echo Camp sure look like they could be theropod (3-toed dinosaur) tracks.

I reached Rainbow Bridge at about 12:30 PM and took about 30 minutes to eat and take photos. While I could hear tourists' voices coming from downcanyon near the lake, I never actually saw anyone. If I could have arrived to the bridge before noon, I would have ran the extra mile down to the lake, but since I was running a little late, I began retracing my steps up Bridge Canyon.

One of two bronze plaques installed to commemorate Paiutes Nasjah Begay and Jim Mike who led the Cummings-Douglas Expedition to Rainbow Bridge in 1909.

Installation of the Nasjah Begay plaque by the Park Service in 1927. Jim Mike didn't get his full-size plaque installed until 1997. NPS photo.

Failed self-timer shot at Redbud Pass.

Recently completed trail through Redbud Pass in 1928. The natural slot canyon through Redbud Pass was widened by chisel and dynamite to allow pack animals through. NAU Library.

A pack train travels through Redbud Pass in 1928. NAU photo.

Today, erosion and subsequent rockfall have choked Redbud Pass with large blocks of Navajo Sandstone. The canyon is no longer passable by horse.

Several generations of fading pictographs adorn the walls of Cliff Canyon.

Looking up to Yabut Pass from the bottom of Cliff Canyon. This is easily the biggest climb on the whole trail, gaining 2000 feet in 2 miles. The trail climbs a landslide of shattered and pulverized sandstone, indicating that the canyon wall collapsed catastrophically in the distant past. 

Yabbut Pass truly is the crux of the entire trail, and one must choose wisely whether they want to climb or descend this beast. Either direction will have your knees begging for mercy. I knew I would be miserable pedaling mostly uphill on the bike after a 30-mile run, so I chose to complete the loop in a CCW direction, which meant a grueling climb up Yabbut, but a mostly downhill bike ride at the end. Many will likely choose to run in the opposite direction just to avoid this punishing climb.

Looking down from near the top of Yabut Pass into Cliff Canyon in 1928. NAU Library photo.

Aztec Mesa west of Yabut Pass. Fiftymile Mountain north of Lake Powell is in the far distance.

The ghostly remains of Rainbow Lodge. Completed in 1923 by the Richardson brothers, the lodge changed ownership over the years and was eventually sold to Arizona Senator and presidential nominee Barry Goldwater in 1946. Many luminaries paid the high price to travel to and stay at the lodge including financier John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

The Rainbow Lodge burned down in 1951 and only a few scattered stone walls remain.

Cryptic pictograph near Willow Spring at Rainbow Lodge.

One of many remnants of the former Rainbow Lodge complex.

The end of the trail at Rainbow Lodge.

The sun set just after I reached my bike at 6:45 pm, making for a 13.75-hour run along the Rainbow Bridge Trail. I changed into biking shoes and started pedaling the final 20 miles across Navajo Nation in the dark. I felt fantastic knowing I'd finally completed my goal, and it of course felt good to finally get off my feet! I returned to my car near Cha Canyon about 2 hours later, completing the circumnavigation of Navajo Mountain in a little under 16 hours. With adrenaline pumping, I decided to go for it, and make the 5-hour drive back to Cedar City. I ended up getting home at about 2 am--a very long day!

This was an amazing experience, and I rank it up there with some of my favorite single-day suffer-fests. Although shorter in mileage than either the Trans-Zion or R2R2R, the Rainbow Bridge Trail has comparable elevation gain (~10,000 feet in the CCW direction), and is really set apart by its remoteness. While help is never too far away on Zion's or Grand Canyon's main corridor trails,  it could be weeks before you see another soul along the Rainbow (I passed two cars on the road while biking, but zero humans or even their footprints on the trail). Running the additional 20 miles to make an even 50 miler certainly is doable as well.

Whether you want to set an FKT, or spend a couple of weeks immersing yourself in some of the most enchanting country in the West, I can't recommend this trail enough.