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Utah

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

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Rainbow Bridge National Monument

Utah

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1910

160 acres

Website: nps.gov/rabr

Overview

The statistics on Rainbow Bridge are impressive: it spans 275 feet with a height of 290 feet (compare that to the 151-foot-tall Statue of Liberty), and the sandstone at its top is 42 feet thick and 33 feet wide.  Before geologists started lumping together natural bridges and arches, it was considered the largest natural bridge in the world formed by water running underneath it.  The Navajo and other tribes consider Rainbow Bridge sacred and request that nobody walks beneath its span.  When Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963, many archaeological sites were submerged beneath Lake Powell and at the reservoir’s peak volume this sacred site has had water reach to its base.  The National Park Service (NPS) manages Rainbow Bridge National Monument as part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area that straddles the Utah-Arizona border.

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments. It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Boat ride, Rainbow Bridge

Must-Do Activity

The NPS runs Carl Hayden Visitor Center in Page, Arizona, which is a good place to plan a visit to Rainbow Bridge or purchase tickets for a Glen Canyon Dam tour.  If you do not want to attempt to navigate 50 miles one-way in your own boat (rentals available), there are all-day commercial boat trips into Bridge Canyon.  Depending on the water level, the hike from the boat dock to the first overlook of the natural bridge is around one-mile one-way and is not wheelchair accessible.  Photos do not do Rainbow Bridge justice, and you must see it for yourself to truly appreciate the size of this entry on our Top 10 NPS Sites for Natural Bridges/Arches. 

Best Trail

There is always a hike from the boat dock to the overlook, but if you are in good shape continue on the trail around to the left to see the other side of Rainbow Bridge.  With proper permits from the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, Arizona, it is possible to backpack into the site on either a 14-mile or 17-mile trail. 

Photographic Opportunity

Obviously, Rainbow Bridge is the star attraction here.  Navajo legends tell how one of the Hero Twins was saved from drowning when his father Jo’hanaa’éí (the Sun) sent a rainbow, later turned to stone to symbolize a father’s love.  Another story says a measuring worm turned itself to stone to save both Hero Twins.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://nps.gov/rabr/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

There is a $30 per vehicle entrance fee at the two marinas in Page (America the Beautiful passes accepted), in addition to charges for guided boat tours.

Road Conditions

The roads are paved to the marinas in Page, Arizona.  Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is famous for its backcountry 4×4 roads (like Hole-in-the-Rock Road) and flash floods, so check with a park ranger before attempting anything unpaved.  A fee is charged to ferry across Lake Powell between Halls Crossing and Bullfrog Marina.

Camping

There are several developed campgrounds in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (mostly near marinas), but free primitive camping is also allowed along most dirt roads.  A permit is required for backpack camping in the beautiful Coyote Gulch area off Hole-in-the-Rock Road.

Related Sites

Natural Bridges National Monument (Utah)

Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)

Navajo National Monument (Arizona)

Scott’s father on the trail to Rainbow Bridge

Explore More – Where along the trail to the Rainbow Bridge overlook is the three-toed dinosaur print found in the sandstone?

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

Kentucky

Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument

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Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument

Kentucky

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2019

1,459 acres

Website: nps.gov/misp

Overview

During the Civil War, the Battle of Mill Springs started on January 19, 1862 in the Union state of Kentucky (where slavery was still legal).  North of the Cumberland River, a surprise attack by the Confederate Army was repelled and celebrated as the first decisive Union victory in the western theater.  The battlefield was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993 and acquired by the National Park Service (NPS) in 2020. 

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments. It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Museum, film, Mill Springs National Cemetery, Zollicoffer Park, Brown-Lanier House, Mill Springs Mill, Lake Cumberland

Must-Do Activity

Start your visit by watching the film at the NPS visitor center next to Mill Springs National Cemetery, opened in 1867 as one of 12 original National Cemeteries.  The driving tour starts from there south down Kentucky Highway 235 to Zollicoffer Park where there are markers for Confederate General Felix K. Zollicoffer (buried beneath the “Zollie Tree”) and a Confederate mass grave.  There are six more stops on the driving tour north of Lake Cumberland, but there is no bridge across the reservoir, so to reach the final two stops requires backtracking and connecting to Kentucky Highway 1275.  There you will reach the Brown-Lanier House at Mill Springs that was utilized by both sides of the battle.  Open seasonally to the public, the working grist mill on Lake Cumberland dates to 1877 and is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.  The final tour stop is at the West-Metcalfe House that served as a Confederate headquarters and hospital, but is not currently open.

Best Trail

A 0.75-mile walking trail in Zollicoffer Park goes down into a ravine that was behind the Confederate lines, as explained by interpretive signs there.  You can also walk to the edge of Lake Cumberland at Ferry Landing on the north shore and Mill Springs Mill on the south shore.

Photographic Opportunity

Built in 1860, the Brown-Lanier House offers guided tours inside the house that was twice hit by artillery during the Battle of Mill Springs.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/misp/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

Tours of the Brown-Lanier House now seem to be free and offered by NPS rangers every other Saturday in the summer.

Road Conditions

All roads are paved, but be careful while driving onto small pullouts along the highways.

Camping

There are campgrounds along Lake Cumberland and further north at Mammoth Cave National Park.

Related Sites

Camp Nelson National Monument (Kentucky)

Shiloh National Military Park (Tennessee-Mississippi)

Fort Donelson National Battlefield (Tennessee-Kentucky)

Brown-Lanier House
Orb-weaver spider
Cumberland River

Explore More – What other two names has the Battle of Mill Springs been called?

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

Arizona

Tonto National Monument

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Tonto National Monument

Arizona

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1907

1,120 acres

Website: nps.gov/tont

Overview

After farming along the Salt River (or Rio Salado) for centuries, in the 1300s the Salado people moved to natural caves where they constructed cliff dwellings.  Perhaps following catastrophic flooding or drought, the entire Tonto Basin was abandoned by 1450.  When construction of Theodore Roosevelt Dam began in 1906, its namesake President protected these ruins using the power of the 1906 Antiquities Act.

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments. It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Museum, film, Lower Cliff Dwelling, Upper Cliff Dwelling guided tour

Must-Do Activity

Every visitor who is in good enough shape for the 350 foot ascent should make their way up to Lower Cliff Dwelling (with 28 rooms) after watching the film at the National Park Service visitor center.  While at the top, talk to the volunteer stationed there for more information about the people who once inhabited the ruins.  Only offered from November through April, the 10 a.m. ranger-guided tour (reservations required) to the Upper Cliff Dwelling (with 40 rooms) crosses washes and ascends 600 feet via switchbacks and 60 steps over a three-mile roundtrip.

Best Trail

The paved trail to the Lower Cliff Dwelling gains 350 feet of elevation in a half-mile, providing excellent views of Theodore Roosevelt Lake.

Photographic Opportunity

Hiking to Lower Cliff Dwelling is a good introduction to native plants of the Sonoran Desert, including the iconic saguaro cactus, yucca, sotol, cholla, and barrel cactus.

Peak Season

Winter

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/tont/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$10 per person or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

Highway 188 provides paved access to Tonto National Monument between Payson and Globe, while Arizona Highway 88 (“Apache Trail”) is unpaved past Canyon Lake and until December 2024 that section was closed due to a wash out in 2019.  Together they make for a beautiful scenic loop drive suitable for high-clearance vehicles.

Camping

There are campgrounds around Theodore Roosevelt Lake and within Tonto National Forest, which also allows dispersed camping in some areas.

Related Sites

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (Arizona)

Montezuma Castle National Monument (Arizona)

Tuzigoot National Monument (Arizona)

Scott at Tonto National Monument
Roosevelt Lake
Theodore Roosevelt Dam on Highway 88
Raven about the park

Explore More – When was the nearby village of 15 pit houses at Eagle Ridge first settled by humans in the Tonto Basin?

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

Colorado, Utah

La Sal National Forest

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La Sal National Forest

Utah, Colorado

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Intermountain Region

535,288 acres

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/mantilasal

Overview

La Sal National Forest is found in two separate sections of southeastern Utah surrounding the La Sal and Abajo Mountains, topping out on 12,721-foot Mt. Peale.  Much of the southern portion of the National Forest, including the Dark Canyon Wilderness, was included in the 1.35-million-acre Bears Ears National Monument, established in 2016 and then controversially reduced in size before being restored.  Since 1949, it has been administratively combined with the northern and separate Manti National Forest, so it can be difficult to find information for La Sal National Forest alone.  

Highlights

Bears Ears National Monument, La Sal Mountain Loop Scenic Backway, Warner Lake, Bull Canyon Dinosaur Tracks, Buckeye Reservoir, Elk Ridge Scenic Backway, Harts Draw Highway, Abajo Loop State Scenic Backway, Mt. Peale, Arch Canyon, Mt. Tukuhnikivatz

Must-Do Activity

Many visitors access the forest south from Moab on the mostly-paved La Sal Mountain Loop Scenic Backway, a steep drive suitable for passenger vehicles that is accessible in the warmer months.  The often snow-capped La Sal Mountains are featured as the backdrop in nearly every photo of Delicate Arch in Arches National Park.  The Sierra La Sal (“Salt Mountains” in Spanish) were a prominent landmark on the Old Spanish Trail between Santa Fe and Los Angeles.  Be sure to make the dirt Gateway Road (FS 207) detour 5.4 miles to visit Bull Canyon Dinosaur Tracks, where there is also a commanding view of Fisher Mesa and Bull Canyon.  Oowah Lake and Warner Lake are also located on unpaved side roads (3.2 and 5.2 miles respectively) from La Sal Mountain Loop Road.

Best Trail

The 58-mile-long Elk Ridge Scenic Backway is a well-maintained, though unpaved route that leads north from Natural Bridges National Monument to Highway 211, which connects to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.  There are multiple trails along the way that provide access to the Dark Canyon Wilderness, an area known for old-growth forests, natural arches, and Ancestral Puebloan ruins and pictographs.  A high-clearance vehicle is not required to reach Big Notch Trailhead where a trail steeply drops into Dark Canyon.  Erosion has cut red clay walls that make navigation somewhat difficult in places.  About four miles in, not far past the large Cicada Arch on the north side, you reach a spring at the meeting with Drift Trail Canyon.  Another two miles takes you to Scorup Cabin, a good place to turn around or explore Horse Pasture Canyon.

Watchable Wildlife

Wildlife species are similar to Utah’s Dixie National Forest and Fishlake National Forest, including black bears, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, porcupines, raccoons, skunks, badgers, bighorn sheep, elk, mule deer, and pronghorns.  Large birds include bald eagles, golden eagles, northern goshawks, turkey vultures, wild turkeys, common ravens, and various species of owls and woodpeckers.  Look for short-horned lizards in the Dark Canyon Wilderness.  There are many trout and other gamefish found in the streams and small lakes spread across the high-elevations of the La Sal and Abajo Mountains.

Photographic Opportunity

In the summer months, take La Sal Mountain Loop Scenic Backway to Bull Canyon Dinosaur Tracks to see 200-million-year-old therapod tracks, plus an awesome overlook to the north.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

None

Road Conditions

La Sal Mountain Loop Road is mostly paved, but side roads to Bull Canyon Dinosaur Tracks, Oowah Lake, and Warner Lake are not.  The 58-mile-long Elk Ridge Scenic Backway is a rocky, unpaved route that leads north from Natural Bridges National Monument to Highway 211; and side roads to some trailheads require a high-clearance vehicle.

Camping

Warner Lake Campground takes reservations, as does Buckeye Reservoir in Colorado and a few others.  Dispersed camping is also an option, especially along lightly-traveled Elk Ridge Scenic Backway.

Wilderness Areas

Dark Canyon Wilderness

Wilderness

Related Sites

Arches National Park (Utah)

Bears Ears National Monument (Utah)

Natural Bridges National Monument (Utah)

Nearest National Park

Canyonlands

Warner Lake
Looking into Canyonlands National Park
Cicada Arch
Tiff beneath Cicada Arch
Cicada in Cicada Arch
Ravens about the forest

Conifer Tree Species

Utah juniper, Rocky Mountain juniper, two-needle pinyon pine, ponderosa pine, white fir, subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, Douglas-fir

Flowering Tree Species

Gambel oak, quaking aspen, Fremont cottonwood, Utah serviceberry, bigtooth maple, manzanita, sagebrush

Explore More – Due to an administrative error in 1908, what was the misspelled name of La Sal National Forest (which was quickly corrected)?

Learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests in our new guidebook Out in the Woods

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Idaho, Montana

Kootenai National Forest

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Kootenai National Forest

Montana, Idaho

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Northern Region

2,145,268 acres (1,812,380 federal/ 332,888 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/kootenai

Overview

In northwest Montana, Kootenai National Forest includes parts of the Cabinet, Purcell, Salish, Selkirk, and Whitefish Mountains on the border of Canada.  In 1975, the 422-foot-tall Libby Dam on the Kootenai River created 90-mile-long international Lake Koocanusa (a contraction of Kootenai-Canada-U.S.A.).  Elevations in Kootenai National Forest range from 1,832 feet up to 8,738-foot Snowshoe Peak in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, encompassing a variety of habitats from subalpine meadows to arid plains with cacti.

Highlights

Lake Koocanusa Scenic Byway, Northwest Peak Scenic Area, McGregor Lake, Yaak Falls, Ten Lakes Scenic Area, Ross Creek Cedar Grove Scenic Area, Loon Lake, Tenmile Falls, Bluebird Basin Trail, Vinal McHenry Boulder National Recreation Trail, Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

There are more than 1,200 miles of trails in Kootenai National Forest, including 90 miles of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail.  Two of the best places to hike are the Northwest Peak and Ten Lakes Scenic Areas, in the remote upper corners of the National Forest.  Outside of Libby, Montana, Blue Mountain Trail (1.5 miles one-way), Skyline National Recreation Trail (22 miles), and Scenery Mountain Lookout Trail (2.5 miles) all climb to incredible overlooks.  At Kootenai Falls (see Photographic Opportunity), a new suspension bridge crosses the Kootenai River to Forest Service land on the north shore.  From there, Koot Creek Canyon Trail travels another three miles to a dirt road in Kootenai National Forest.

Best Trail

In 1959, Ross Creek Cedar Grove Scenic Area preserved 101 acres of western redcedar trees up to eight feet in diameter.  A one-lane paved road with pullouts leads 4.3 miles from Highway 56 to a large parking area with a day-use fee.  The main trail is a less than one-mile loop with interpretive signs, but continues five miles to the North Fork of Ross Creek.  The old-growth forest is also home to large Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, grand fir, and western hemlock trees growing above a lush green understory of ferns and Devil’s-club.

Watchable Wildlife

The mountains provide habitat for grizzly bears, black bears, Canada lynxes, bobcats, mountain lions, wolverines, mink, pine martens, long-tailed weasels, porcupines, snowshoe hares, pika, moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats.  Hoskins Lake is a wintering range for mule deer and white-tailed deer, as well as an osprey nesting area in the summer.  The National Forest’s numerous rivers and more than 100 lakes support gamefish like cutthroat, rainbow, brown, and endangered bull trout.  The endangered white sturgeon is also found in this area.

Photographic Opportunity

Located in a county park on the side of Highway 2, Kootenai Falls is only about 20 feet tall, but it is impressively wide and beautiful.  An overlook is located one-tenth of a mile from the parking lot, but there is also a walking bridge that crosses over the railroad tracks to a viewpoint at the edge of the falls, and a suspension bridge only a quarter-mile further downstream.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

Ross Creek Cedar Grove Scenic Area has a day-use fee (or the America the Beautiful pass is also accepted).

Road Conditions

Paved roads like the Lake Koocanusa Scenic Byway, U.S. Highway 2, and State Highway 56 make it easy to explore Kootenai National Forest.  To access Ross Creek Cedar Grove Scenic Area, a one-lane paved road with pullouts leads 4.3 miles from Highway 56.  A nice drive through the Purcell Mountains can be made by looping State Route 508 and Forest Road 68.

Camping

There are Forest Service campgrounds at Kilbrennan Lake, Loon Lake, Rexford Branch, Caribou, Red Top, Whitetail, Pete Creek, Howard Lake, and elsewhere.  Big Creek Baldy Mountain lookout cabin can be rented, too.

Wilderness Areas

Cabinet Mountains Wilderness (also in Kaniksu National Forest)

Related Sites

Kaniksu National Forest (Idaho-Montana-Washington)

Bitterroot National Forest (Montana-Idaho)

Coeur d’Alene National Forest (Idaho)

Nearest National Park

Glacier

Kootenai Falls
Suspension bridge at Kootenai Falls
Suspension bridge at Kootenai Falls
Kootenai River
Kootenai Falls
Scott’s mother in Ross Creek Cedar Grove Scenic Area
Scott in Ross Creek Cedar Grove Scenic Area
Scott’s mother in Ross Creek Cedar Grove Scenic Area

Conifer Tree Species

lodgepole pine, whitebark pine, ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western redcedar, , western larch, alpine larch, Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, grand fir

Flowering Tree Species

Rocky Mountain maple, boxelder, quaking aspen, balsam poplar, dwarf birch, paper birch, Piper’s hawthorn, Bebb willow, western mountain-ash, choke cherry, western serviceberry

Explore More – The Kootenai (or Kootenay in Canada) River is named after the local Ktunaxa Indians, which translates as what in the Algonquian language?

Learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests in our new guidebook Out in the Woods

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