Tonto Natural Bridge Photoset • mikemcg • 2022-07-03 • HikeArizona.COM

Tonto Natural Bridge, AZ

	2022-07-03
	10 by mikemcg

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Tonto Natural Bridge

Payson, AZ

Tonto Natural Bridge

Payson, AZ

Hiking	1.49 Miles	468 AEG

Hiking	1.49 Miles	1 Hour 45 Mns	1.30 mph
	468 ft AEG	36 Mns Break

Linked

linked

Pine Creek Trail - Tonto Natural Bridge

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

I've passed by Tonto Natural Bridge numerous times, and finally got a chance to check it out. We started on Pine Creek Trail, which was pretty, with a lot of green, but no water initially. We stayed along the creek bed and eventually started seeing some water, with some beautiful pools along the way, and a couple caves. Eventually we were in the tunnel. The easiest way through the tunnel is to stay on the left, but a park ranger yelled at us that this area was off limits because there is a risk of occasional falling rocks on that side. We then prepared to swim across, but swimming is not allowed in the tunnel either. The only way allowed is on the right, which involves walking 15 feet along a narrow (3 inch) ledge that consisted of smooth, wet rock, then sliding down about 15 feet, which seemed like the most dangerous route to me, but we survived it. The tunnel is pretty fascinating except for the incessant precipitation inside. Eventually we climbed out, checked out the viewpoints up top, and headed back.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Tonto Natural Bridge

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