Natural Bridge Park

Natural Bridge Park
Natural arches at the Park.
Location	Winston County, Alabama
Nearest town	Natural Bridge, Alabama
Coordinates	34°05′35″N 87°36′53″W / 34.09306°N 87.61472°W / 34.09306; -87.61472
Opened	1954 (1954)
Owned by	Donnie and Naomi Lowman
Operated by	Donnie and Naomi Lowman
Status	open
Hiking trails	2 mile nature path

Natural Bridge Park, near the town of Natural Bridge, Alabama, is a privately owned park in Winston County that has been open since 1954.^[1][2][3] The current owners are Donnie and Naomi Lowman.^[4]

The Park's primary attraction is a natural-arch rock formation that is 60 feet (18 m) high, 148 feet (45 m) long, and composed of sandstone and iron ore.^{[1] [2][5]} The bridge is purported to be the longest natural arch east of the Rocky Mountains in North America. A two-mile nature trail guides visitors beneath the arch and past nearby rock formations.^[6] Walking across the bridge itself is not permitted, due to safety concerns.

The Park includes picnic accommodations, an artesian well that supplies drinking fountains, a gift shop featuring hand-crafted items, 27 varieties of fern, and a stand of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)—a species that dates back to the Pleistocene epoch (approximately 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago).^[3]

Downhill from the arch is an outcropping of rock resembling a Native American head in right profile, similar to that of an old U.S. "Indian head" nickel. The stone formation is just over 15 feet (4.6 m) high.

• 
  Indian head nickel.
• 
  Stone formation.

As of 2024, the park is open from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm seven days a week and admission is $10.00 for adults.^[4]

This natural-arch formation dates back about 200 million years.^[1] It was formed by the New River eroding weaker sandstone away from the stronger stone bridge spans.^[3][2] creating an erosion feature: natural-bridge.^[7]

Muscogee Creek Indians lived in this area, and they probably used the bridge-cave enclosure for shelter.^[2]

The Park itself was opened to the public by the Legg family in 1954.^[2] In recent years, it was owned and operated by Jim and Barbara Denton. In August 2023, Donnie and Naomi Lowman purchased it and are now running it (as of January 2024).^[4]

• 
  Entrance sign.
• 
  Entrance and gift shop.
• 
  View from under the arch, looking upward.
• 
  Under the bridge.
• 
  Looking outward, wintertime.
• 
  Rock formation visible from the nature trail.
• 
  Eroded rock
• 
  Eroded rock
• 
  19th-century graffiti

• "Natural Bridge in Alabama". Archived from the original on June 13, 2018.
• Gann, Pamela (2022-09-23). "Everything you need to know when visiting Natural Bridge Park, Alabama". Pam Gann. Retrieved 2024-01-15.

34°05′35″N 87°36′53″W / 34.09306°N 87.61472°W / 34.09306; -87.61472