The Bridge to Nowhere is a great 10 mile round trip trail that follows a stream up to a bridge that basically sits alone in the middle of the wilderness. The bridge was initially built to be the road that connected Azuza to the mountain town of Wrightwood. A road was built up to the bridge, but then the way was wiped out in the flood of 1938. After this, no one tried to rebuild the road, so the bridge is now only accessible through a 10-mile roundtrip hike. When you turn the corner and see the bridge for the first time, it is a strange sight; to think that it has never been driven on and was built only to be abandoned is pretty unique. Here is all the information on this hike if you want to do it yourself and you can see a video I made in 2019 below as well.
Details
- 10 miles round trip
- 1,200 feet of elevation
- Lots of stream crossings
- Need an Adventure Pass for parking
Video
Here is a video I made from my hike here in 2019.
Starting Out
We set out on the hike at 7 AM on a Sunday morning. The parking lot was packed, so we had to park down a little down the road, but after a short walk, we got to the start of the trail at the road closed sign.
We started on the trek and almost immediately got to a river crossing. It had been raining the night before and was humid, but the river crossing was not dangerous, and the water was nice and cool.
The Trail
The path is pretty much left up to your imagination, but the general rule is that if you are confused about where to go, follow the river and try to stay towards the right, the upper path. I would recommend downloading a GPS track to follow to make it easier on yourself, and All Trails is a good resource for this. Along the way, we crossed over many broken pieces of the road, which showed where it had initially been.
The trail does have a lot of rocks that you have to walk over, and that slows down the hike, especially with the constant water crossings. There is also a decent amount of up and down over the terrain, so plan for a half to a full day here.
After about two and a half miles, there is a little waterfall that greets you before you leave the foliage for a mostly barren second half of the hike.
Again, you just want to try to stay to the right and look out for the trail that goes up at the end to get to the bridge. It is probably easier to watch the video above to see the way the trail looks.
The Bridge
This hike is stunning the entire time, whether you are crossing the river, looking down at the canyon below, or walking through the trees. When we finally arrived at the bridge, there were at least 50 people there watching and partaking in the bungee jumping, that is one of the highlights of this hike. Let me know if you do it in the comments, but I did not do it myself. No one in our group was prepared with the cash needed to participate in this adrenaline rush (they don’t take card), but I’m sure next time we will try it out.
It was entertaining to watch people do it as it looked wholly crazy but a once in a lifetime experience for sure. There was a line the entire time we were there, and they usually only do the jumps on the weekend.
After time for lunch and exploring, we went down and swam in the river below the bridge. You can jump off rocks and kick back and relax for as long as you like before heading back on the hike to your car. This bridge and the area surrounding it is private property, and they have a lot of signs to warn you of that as well.
The hike back is mostly downhill but still takes 2 to 3 hours as you have to cross back and forth over the river and walk along the rocks. It is a nice hike back, and if it is warm, I always swim when I can.
On the way back, we saw everything from rattlesnakes to wild raspberries and even stopped for another swim in the river. This is a popular hike, and we passed probably about 100 people on the way there and back. It is especially popular in the summer, since you are in the water a lot and can use that to cool off. Do note that it can be scorching in the summer, though, and if you go you want to get an early start.
All in all, this hike took us around 7 hours and was a blast from start to finish. The hike is a moderately difficult trip with about 10 miles and 1,000 feet of elevation, but I would say most people could do it. If you are in the LA area, it is worth a trip. Make sure to bring your cash so you can jump off of the bridge if you want to do that, and also remember to bring your swimming trunks so you can partake in all the great river pools. Let me know what you think in the comments.
