Hickman Natural Bridge is located .95 miles from the Hickman Bridge Trailhead in Capitol Reef National Park. The opening is 133' long and 125' tall. The trail follows the Fremont River before rising away across varied terrain to a short loop that passes under the arch.

Water once flowed behind the fin from which Hickman Bridge was carved, and eroded soft shale layers until it broke through

Volcanic boulders formed 20-30M years ago from lava flows on mountains west of the park, and were carried here as the last Ice Age retreated and sent landslides and debris flows to lower elevations

Roundleaf Buffaloberry bushes have leathery leaves covered in short, light-colored hairs that help minimize water loss; its berries were used by settlers to make a rudimentary sauce for bison steaks

Capitol Reef National Park derives its name in part from the rounded Navajo Sandstone domes that resemble the domes of capitol buildings throughout the US

The Hickman Bridge Trail passes under the arch with a great look at the opening, and landscape which frames it

Desert Bighorn Sheep were largely absent from the Capitol Reef area by the late 20th century, but were successfully re-introduced in the 1990s

The Fremont River headwaters can be traced to the Fish Lake - Hightop Plateau (11,200') in south central Utah

Rock layers on the west side of the Waterpocket Fold have been lifted more than 7000' higher than layers on the east

Hickman Bridge's 125' tall opening is best viewed in morning light just past the beginning of the loop

Navajo Sandstone is comprised of thick layers of cross-bedded sandstone formed by windblown sand dunes deposited here 180M years ago

Natural bridges are a type of natural arch distinguished by having had a current of water (such as a stream) play a significant role in its formation, and may now have or once had running water through the opening

Rock strata in the Waterpocket Fold was tilted during a mountain building event that began 65M years ago

The Fremont people lived mostly in central Utah, and the ancestral Puebloans occupied the Four Corners region; these cultures can be distinguished by their different tools, pottery and rock art

Hickman Natural Bridge stands 125' tall and 133' across