Discover San Juan County Excursions

Excursion H: Natural Bridges National Monument – Viewing of Bears Ears

(Limited to 30 participants)

The amazing force of water cut three spectacular  natural bridges in White Canyon at Natural Bridges  National Monument. A pair of towering buttes stand  against beautiful scenery. The twin buttes are so  distinctive that in each of the native languages of the  region their name is the same: Hoon’Naqvut, Shash  Jáa, Kwiyagatu Nukavachi, Ansh An Lashokdiwe, or in  English: Bears Ears. This is the best location to view  the Bears Ears. These stunning rock bridges have  Hopi Indian names: delicate Owachomo means ‘rock  mounds,’ massive Kachina means “dancer,” while  Sipapu, the second largest natural bridge in the state,  means “place of emergence.” A nine-mile scenic drive  has overlooks of the bridges, canyons and a touch of  history with ancient Puebloan ruins. 

There is ample evidence that ancient people occupied  this complex system of canyons from about 500 B.C.  until around 1270 A.D.. The earliest inhabitants probably  lived in pit houses on the mesa tops, while the later  Ancestral Puebloans built cliff dwellings that can still be  seen today. They likely formed on the broad mesas, not  in the narrow canyons. (source: BLM) 

Hiking Instructions: Moderate to difficult trails, some  with metal stairs, lead down to each bridge. A longer  trail follows the stream bed beneath all three bridges.  
 

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