Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge Hike for Christmas

/ 3 January 2019 / 0 Comments

*update 1/2021 If you start this hike at the Hidden Valley park trail head you will cross 2 more cool bridges.

We first posted about the Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge Hike over two years ago! Elise from @3KidsTravel gave us all the tips we needed so that when we hiked it ourselves we knew what to expect! (It's been on my bucket list since then check out the original article here.)

Since we were traveling to Cedar City for the Holidays, we thought it would be fun to stop somewhere along the way we hadn't stayed before. We randomly decided to stay in Sandy and see all the things!

We actually asked you what we should do and many wrote that the Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge was close!

We packed up the four kids and headed to the trailhead. After reading some tips, we decided not to wear our snow clothes or boots, since it hadn't snowed in a while. We did dress up the two tiny babies super warm as they would be riding on our backs. We use this and this carrier.

There was plenty of snow, but it was half melted and then frozen.

The kids thought they were pretty cool slipping all over the ice. Stomping on the ice was super fun too.

Much of this trail was a road, so it was pretty easy to follow along.

Bear Suspension Bridge is actually a loop trail, so we decided to follow the trail furthest north and then come back down around. (You'll see in the map below.)

We considered the trail fairly easy on the way up. There were some switchbacks, but since the kids didn't complain, it wasn't too bad!

I was surprised at how big the bridge actually is. We've hiked to a few suspensions bridges outside of Utah and this might have been one of the bigger ones we've been on.

I was half worried about the kids falling off the bridge, but never fear, they can't fall off.

We didn't stay too long since it was getting really cold. We read that this area gets super windy, so be prepared for that too.

We decided to continue down the loop, hiking back a different way back to the car. There were some spots that were really icy and we were slightly worried about our kids slipping (as they skipped down the trail) and then falling over the edge into the brush, but we made it okay.

Of course, we couldn't make it on this hike without making a freezing potty break somewhere on the trail. Be sure to check out the original Salt Project article here. We were super excited to cross this hike off our bucket list!

Are there any other suspension bridge hikes in Utah? Does anyone know of any? Leave a comment below!

Harmony

Helpful Tips

Here is the map we used for this hike.
While the trails are pretty well marked, it can get a little confusing, so make sure you bring the map with you or have it accessible on your phone. If you are following our exact steps, you'll pass TWO signs making your way north that may make you think you should take them, but just continue on north until you come to the sign that you see above with Orion in them.
There is not any shade on this trail so in hotter months you'll want to make sure to put sunscreen on and hike earlier or later in the day
Watch out for bikes along the trail because it is a popular area for mountain biking.
You'll want to dress in layers and wear appropriate footwear depending on the weather, it can get windy up at the bridge
Restrooms are only open seasonally.
Water Fountain at the main part of the trail.
Dogs are allowed on these trails, but please clean up after them! We kept stepping around dog poop.
Bring water and snacks!!
There are signs to watch out for cougars in the area. We didn't see any, but stay aware.
Be respectful on the bridge and follow posted rules about how to behave.