Natural Bridge State Park
Natural Bridge State Park
4.5
Historic SitesState ParksPoints of Interest & LandmarksGeologic Formations
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Once owned by Thomas Jefferson and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 215-foot tall Natural Bridge is a limestone gorge carved out by Cedar Creek. The park is more than just the bridge; beautiful forests and rolling meadows showcase the area’s karst terrain, and vistas of surrounding mountains and the James River valley display nature’s splendor. Access these via 6 miles of hiking trails, including the accessible Cedar Creek Trail that leads from the bridge to the Monacan Indian Village and Lace Falls with its 30-foot cascade. Living history programs connect you to the past and cover how people once used the area’s resources for survival and inspiration. Start at the visitor center where you will find exhibits and a gift shop. A shuttle from the visitor center to the bridge trail is available for those not wishing to take the stairs.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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See what travellers are saying
- JillNew Jersey766 contributionsBeautiful!Wow, this place is gorgeous! I am so glad we stopped to explore. It is $9/person and they allow pets, which is awesome! Some cool spots to explore, loved the hidden river! The waterfall is a bit of a letdown, but everything else is gorgeous! Definitely worth a visit.Visited December 2023Travelled with familyWritten 6 January 2024
- Rita SMelbourne, Florida1,922 contributionsBeautifulAbsolutely gorgeous place. Bring water bottle, walking shoes, insect repellent, walking stick. Trails, streams, falls, bridge, cave, footpaths. Stairs entering and exiting park — steep climb back up. Enjoyable walk on trails along stream. Amply parking. Free parking. Calm, peaceful, scenic park. Sitting areas to view bridge. Sitting area to view falls. Gift shop. Friendly staff. Modest entrance fee into park. Beautiful place. Fantastic visit. Fascinating bridge.Visited July 2023Travelled soloWritten 9 January 2024
- KuntrykruisersJefferson, Georgia1,092 contributionsRide the chairliftWe were passing thru and decided to check the park out. The chairlift to the top offered some amazing views. Very relaxing. Be prepared, it's a 25 min ride each way. There's several trails at the top. One leads you to the bridge and another to an overlook of the bridge. Spectacular views of the rock outcroppings. Ooga booga 😎Visited April 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 21 April 2024
- Whistle-pigTexas88 contributionsExhilarating experience!This was a really long drive to get there (we were starting from inside Shenandoah NP), but we were all so glad to have made the effort. It was beautiful and not crowded at all! The park rangers were very helpful and informative. Their visitor center may have been one of the nicest I’ve ever seen. Spacious and clean!Visited April 2024Travelled with familyWritten 11 May 2024
- Lindsey CThomasville, North Carolina33 contributionsFantastic!Beautiful - perfect for a day trip. Just gorgeous and pleasant. Walked all the way to Lace Falls. Hardest part are the stairs back up on your return. Make sure to take this into account if you have any health issues or limitations.Visited May 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 16 May 2024
- Lisa C2 contributionsEnjoyable walking trailDog friendly and beautiful trail. Was a bit crowded over Father’s Day weekend. Park staff and visitors were all friendly. The trail is mostly in the sun so wear sunscreen. The trail is gentle but there are 130+ steps to get down to the path but once on the path it is pretty flat.Written 6 July 2024
- catadairClinton, South Carolina183 contributionsA must-see for nature lovers!The bridge is stunning! We stopped on a whim on a road trip to stretch our legs, and I’m so glad we did. It is definitely a walk and you have to go down then back up 137 stairs at the beginning and end of the trip. There is a way to access the bridge from a lower parking area, but I think you need permission. We managed, but the stairs are steep and a little uneven. It was worth it though. We walked all the way to the falls. We saw three otters playing around the bridge on our walk in. It was a beautiful day to visit, so we were lucky.Visited September 2024Travelled with familyWritten 5 September 2024
- Jill HOcean City, Maryland128 contributionsLovely stroll along the creekBeautiful walk along a creek. Natural bridge was amazing. Walking on the path beyond the falls you’ll pass a cave and a small hole for the underground river. At the end of the walk is Lace Falls. There are 137 steps to get down to the path which can be a bit of a struggle coming back up. Path itself is level. Park admission is paid at the visitors center.Visited September 2024Travelled with familyWritten 11 September 2024
- Sue MRichmond, Virginia23 contributionsStunning Views. Great Park Staff.The park was spectacular and was on my bucket list for a very long time. Natural Bridge was absolutely breathtaking. Also, the park ranger manger was such a wonderful human being, as he helped me get into my vehicle after locking the keys inside. He was definitely my hero and savior! We will be back to visit and camp soon.Visited September 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 25 September 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
2,150 reviews
Excellent
1,214
Very good
620
Average
186
Poor
68
Terrible
62
AllitheTraveler
Seaford, DE47 contributions
Jan 2020 • Family
We visited the natural bridge on a rainy day during one of our road trips. It was $8 per person to walk about 10 minutes to the bridge, which was completely worth it. I wish we could’ve stayed longer, but we only had a short amount of time. Absolutely breathtaking!
Written 3 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kaitlin O
88 contributions
Jun 2020 • Family
Natural Bridge is stunning! It’s definitely a place I’d wanted to see, but I personally feel like once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it. The only reason I had to take off a star was because of the amount of people/foot traffic. Granted we went on a Saturday, early morning but I would recommend trying to catch this place through the week instead if possible to avoid the mobs of people.
Written 29 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Allison R
Elmwood Park, NJ4 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
One of nature’s best creation. The natural bridge was truly majestic and the pictures needs no filter. Lots of green everywhere. It was 95F, super hot which made the kids a little cranky. They had fun dipping their feet and hands in the little creek. Other families are on their swimsuit and took a dip in the water. We saw lots of little fishies in the water and a water snake.. kids were so tired especially cause of the heat, they Wanted to be carried back to the entrance. :( we were all tired but it was definitely memorable experience.
Written 22 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Crystal H
West Virginia, United States69 contributions
Aug 2021
This is somewhere I have wanted to come for several years now. We stopped here on our way to NC. It is very nice! There are a good many steps down in and then back out. It is not as terrible as I thought it would be though. It is a little expensive, but it is worth it if you keep walking and find the waterfall. Almost all of the trail is shaded which is nice. The water was very low because it hadn't rained for a long time when we visited. I imagine it's a lot prettier when the water is higher. I would definitely recommend visiting here.
Written 28 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
oceanview1
19 contributions
Mar 2023 • Solo
Natural bridge in my opinion is not a destination place to visit, but if you are passing by going someplace and it's not too far out of your way I would definitely recommend stopping. It truly is an amazing piece of nature and to see it in person is not the same as seeing it in pictures. The admission price is very reasonable. They have a nice visitor center that is well stocked with souvenirs as well as a small Cafe type place although I guess that cafe is only open during the busy summer tourist months. Disappointing that they didn't even have bottles of water or grab and go for folks to grab. I visited in March and it was not open. There are restrooms in the visitor center before you start your tour but there is also another restroom at the natural bridge point itself as well as another small gift shop. If you have any mobility or walking issues I would not recommend this. There are quite a few steep steps that you need to go down to the bridge and back up to the visitor center. Once you are at the natural bridge though it is a very pleasant relatively flat walk. The natural bridge itself of course is the main attraction but if you continue on the walk there is also a saltpeter mine, a replica native American Indian village, a Lost River opening, and a small waterfall. Again keep in mind if you're not going during the spring or summer season the native American Indian village will probably not be open or have any actors there. It was actually quite depressing to see the little village just bare brown sticks with nothing going on. The entire path is I believe just over a mile one way so figure a little over 2 miles back and forth. Again if you have the chance to see it in the warmer months I strongly recommend that over the winter months as I'm sure it is much more beautiful with all the greenery from the trees and shrubs rather than the bare Brown sticks everywhere. I've seen pics of the natural bridge in the summer months and it is much more beautiful to look at and to take photos of when it is green rather than bare. I was there during the day but if I'm correct they do a nightly light show at the bridge. There are benches set up for people to sit and watch it. Not sure if that program runs year round or just in the warmer summer months. All the park rangers that I had interaction with were very friendly. Family and kid friendly. I tried to find George Washington's initials but I did not see them. I think it would be very helpful to have some sort of sign or arrow something to direct your eyes to where it is approximately.
Written 14 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
akt85
Madison190 contributions
Nov 2020
Natural Bridge is just five minutes off I-81. The park is a nice diversion off the interstate. Very impressive seeing the Natural Bridge. A park official was kind enough to show me where George Washington carved his initials into the rock at Natural Bridge.
My mom was unable to walk down the stairs to the Natural Bridge. Even on a busy Saturday afternoon, the park ranger was able to get us a spot at the bottom of the hill near the entrance. There are three handicapped spots and two-non handicapped spots for those needing special parking who can’t make it down the stairs.
Although there were a few people not wearing masks, for the most part, people obeyed the mask requirement in the park. Be sure not to miss the observation spot near the visitor’s center of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
My mom was unable to walk down the stairs to the Natural Bridge. Even on a busy Saturday afternoon, the park ranger was able to get us a spot at the bottom of the hill near the entrance. There are three handicapped spots and two-non handicapped spots for those needing special parking who can’t make it down the stairs.
Although there were a few people not wearing masks, for the most part, people obeyed the mask requirement in the park. Be sure not to miss the observation spot near the visitor’s center of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Written 5 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lkis229
Southington, CT569 contributions
Feb 2020
This state park in the winter offers limited hours for the light show but the hiking in the park is easy and interesting. The bridge is a natural formation that is a short walk from the entrance. At certain times of the year they offer an evening light show but during the winter they only do it on certain dates, and we missed it. There is a charge to get to into the park which I think is a little steep particularly if you want to bring children. There are also Caverns which are closed in the winter during the week.
Written 8 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hokie67
Lexington, VA1,085 contributions
Nov 2020
We met our daughter and grandkids here for a masked social distanced 'greeting' the Friday after Thanksgiving. It was a beautiful fall day.
The parking lot was almost full at 1:00 PM, but the line for tickets was short. You have to walk down 137 steps to get to the entrance. That means you have 137 steps to walk back up at the end! Mostly people were coming up the steps as we were going down.
Almost immediately after you present your tickets to the ranger, you come upon the creek, which flows under the 'Bridge'. Then you look up and Voila!!! the 'Bridge' is towering over you. And it's a great vantage point to take photos. One thing you'll notice is that there are trees everywhere... along both sides of the creek and on top of the 'Bridge'.
We spent about an hour going up the trail along side of the creek and back. All told we were in the park for about 1 1/2 hours as we paused several times to take in the vistas.
It's kinda amazing that this site is practically in our back yard about 12 miles from where we live.
There is a nice gift shop at the Visitors Center with clean indoor rest rooms.
We had fun. Note: that it's a great place for repeat visits... and to take friends and family.
The parking lot was almost full at 1:00 PM, but the line for tickets was short. You have to walk down 137 steps to get to the entrance. That means you have 137 steps to walk back up at the end! Mostly people were coming up the steps as we were going down.
Almost immediately after you present your tickets to the ranger, you come upon the creek, which flows under the 'Bridge'. Then you look up and Voila!!! the 'Bridge' is towering over you. And it's a great vantage point to take photos. One thing you'll notice is that there are trees everywhere... along both sides of the creek and on top of the 'Bridge'.
We spent about an hour going up the trail along side of the creek and back. All told we were in the park for about 1 1/2 hours as we paused several times to take in the vistas.
It's kinda amazing that this site is practically in our back yard about 12 miles from where we live.
There is a nice gift shop at the Visitors Center with clean indoor rest rooms.
We had fun. Note: that it's a great place for repeat visits... and to take friends and family.
Written 1 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jmb
8 contributions
May 2023 • Couples
This looked SO amazing that we decided to add it to our itinerary. We arrived and spoke to the lovely lady at the Tourist info desk. She was the only person that informed us of the 134 very steep steps to the bridge. I have knee ligament damage but decided to give it a go so lined up to get out tickets. The person who served us (cashier 9208) was not at all friendly, in fact she was quite rude. We have an 'America the Beautiful' annual pass and we noticed on the drive in that this park was affiliated with the nps so asked if we received a cheaper rate, she was extremely rude about this and told us we could not get in free, we did not ask this at all. She then checked the $100 bill we gave her 5 times and then very reluctantly took it and literally threw the change at us. An extremely rude and ill mannered person. There are so many disabled parking bays but what is the point, many disabled people are not able to enjoy the bridge as they cannot get to it! and after all that, the indian village is not open :( A very poor experience.
Written 23 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tiffany H
3 contributions
Jan 2023
Our family stopped at Natural Bridge as an "adventure stop" on our way from Florida to DC. The day was overcast with intermittent misty rain and the temperature was about 40 degrees. Upon entering the Park store we discovered a very large space with a vast assortment of goods for purchase. The kids used the bathrooms, we paid admission, and bundled up for our adventure. As instructed we ventured down the 127 steps to the next ranger who would check our admission ticket. She gave us information about the hike under the bridge and to the waterfall which was just the right length for us to take the kids. We began our walk and just before the bridge, we took some photos. Another ranger from the same building jogged towards us and offered to take photos of the whole family, so unexpected and so wonderful! We had only been at this park for about 20 minutes and had already encountered 3 very friendly rangers. I was one happy mama. We continued our walk discovering lots of interesting things along the way including a cave, some historic elements, and of course, the waterfall. Although.... the Bridge itself would have been enough to keep my interest. To end our adventure, we spent some time by the large fire at the ranger station. The fire was incredibly warm and necessary on this cold wet day. There was yet another lovely ranger keeping the fire going.
I would love to visit this park again in another season and see the difference. My kids were pleasantly intrigued by all of the things that they saw and especially enjoyed the fire!
I would love to visit this park again in another season and see the difference. My kids were pleasantly intrigued by all of the things that they saw and especially enjoyed the fire!
Written 31 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How much further from the bridge to see the waterfalls?
Written 8 October 2022
It isn't that long a walk but you have to go down quite a few steps. It's worth it for the view
Written 9 October 2022
You can park right out front of the building where you pay. Then you hike down to the bottom to the bridge and further to water falls. a lot of steps down to bridge level !
Written 16 June 2022
Is the shuttle wheelchair accessible or must one be able to stand and transfer to and from the shuttle?
Written 16 May 2022
You would need to contact the ranger at the visitor center for the shuttle down the stairs. BUT it is still a hike to the bridge. I think a wheelchair is possible but I would confirm that with the ranger. I did see a stroller on the path. The day I went was icy and had snow on the path.
Try 540-291-1326 for the Ranger.
Written 17 May 2022
There is no shuttle. I read you can request assistance but we did not use it
Written 16 July 2021
Amanda R
Cincinnati, Ohio
Where can I view the international dark skies? We want to star gaze and not stay all night.
Written 4 July 2021
A Tripadvisor member
Camarillo, California
We don’t know
Written 5 July 2021
How long is the round trip hike to the Natural Bridge?
Written 27 April 2021
What is the living history museum on the trail? How far is the walk to visit the museum? Traveling with a couple that may be limited by excessive walks? We are most interested in the historic sites of the area. Connie
Written 27 April 2020
I believe the "living" museum is a re-creation of a local Indian living area of past, consisting of a few building including a smokehouse where they are staffed and they explain the history. It's a good distance unpaved walk to this museum.
Written 28 April 2020
Do you still have the light shoe.? I was so impressed when I saw it several years ago.
Written 12 August 2019
Yes I believe they do still offer this, it was $3 per person I think they said.
Written 20 August 2019
Yes they are and must be on a leash.
Written 21 August 2019
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