The hike is a bit more difficult than you might expect, but still worthwhile
Natural Bridge Canyon Trail的点评
点评:The Natural Bridge Trail is a popular 1.0 mi/3.2km out-and-back trail in Death Valley National Park. The trailhead is located at the end of the unpaved Natural Bridge Road (generally passable for most vehicles), which is off Badwater Road about 13.5 mi/22 km south of SR-190. There is an open dirt parking area near the trailhead as well as a vault toilet. My wife and I hiked this trail in late January 2023.
There is no maintained trail per se, but the route through Natural Bridge Canyon to the Natural Bridge is easy to follow. However, NOTE that the route is very rocky, so appropriate footwear is strongly advised. This trail is rated “easy” due to its short length by every online publication I checked, and it’s probably an appropriate rating, but NOTE that you will definitely need to do a little work to get to the bridge. There is an 86 ft/26m elevation gain, which doesn’t sound like much, but when compacted into a half-mile stretch, it’s a fairly steep track. Combine that with the rocky footing and you’ll feel like you got some exercise. Still, if you are in reasonable physical condition you should be able to complete the hike with little trouble. Keep in mind that like most of Death Valley NP, Natural Bridge Canyon is very exposed, so wearing protection from the sun is important.
The bridge itself is impressive large at 35 ft/11m high and provides a nice payoff to the hike. This is definitely a recommended activity on a visit to Death Valley NP.
翻译:自然桥步道是死亡谷国家公园内一条 1.0 英里/3.2 公里的热门往返步道。小道起点位于未铺砌的天然桥路的尽头(大多数车辆通常可以通行),位于 SR-190 以南约 13.5 英里/22 公里处的 Badwater 路旁。小道起点附近有一个开放式泥土停车区和一个拱顶厕所。我和我的妻子于 2023 年 1 月下旬徒步走过这条小径。
本身没有维护的小径,但穿过天然桥峡谷到天然桥的路线很容易走。但是,请注意这条路线非常崎岖,因此强烈建议穿合适的鞋子。由于长度较短,我检查过的所有在线出版物都将这条步道评为“容易”,这可能是一个合适的评级,但请注意,您肯定需要做一些工作才能到达桥梁。有 86 英尺/26 米的海拔增益,听起来并不多,但当压缩成半英里的延伸时,这是一条相当陡峭的赛道。再加上崎岖的地基,你会觉得自己得到了一些锻炼。尽管如此,如果您的身体状况良好,您应该能够轻松完成徒步旅行。请记住,与死亡谷 NP 的大部分地区一样,天然桥峡谷非常暴露,因此做好防晒工作很重要。
这座桥本身令人印象深刻,高 35 英尺/11 米,为徒步旅行提供了不错的回报。这绝对是参观死亡谷 NP 的推荐活动。