Guide for Hiking Bridge Spring Arch near Vegas

Bridge Spring Arch is a great trail some friends shares with us during the height of Covid lockdowns, when we were frantically trying to find good local hikes outside of the state and federal lands, all of which had been shut down. Bridge Spring Arch was our favorite hike we were able to do during the shut downs.

Bridge Spring Arch

Before we get into all the information about the hike, here is Bridge Spring Arch, the highlight of the hike.

As you are hiking down, the arch kind of pops up out of nowhere. While you can see the arch pretty easily, it is tough to find a good place to get a good picture of it.

I tried going to the other side of the trail area where I could see more of the arch, but you lose the gap of sky under the arch the makes it pop out as an arch.

I found the best place to capture a nice slit of sky under the arch was to climb through the arch and shoot back toward the trail.

There is not a ton of room to shoot here so it is tough to capture the whole arch. I tried hiking down further, but the arch quickly disappears behind all the trees and brush.

Where is Bridge Spring Arch?

Bridge Spring Arch is located about 35 minutes southeast of Las Vegas. It is on the road that takes you to Nelson’s Landing.

From Las Vegas, take the 93 toward Boulder City. Before you reach Boulder City, turn south on the 95. After a few miles, you will turn east on the 165.

The trail head starts at a small parking area not long before you reach Nelson’s Landing. There are no signs or markings so plugging in the GPS coordinates should help you find it. They are 35.729890, -114.831580. If you have the Alltrails app, you can find it on there as well.

How long is the hike to Bridge Spring Arch?

The hike to Bridge Spring Arch is about 1.9 miles roundtrip. It is an out-and-back trail, meaning you hike to the Arch and then come back the same way.

The first part of the hike is a steep, but short hike up a small hill. From there it is a gradual decline all the way to the arch. This means coming back it is a gradual incline all the way to the first hill and then a decline to the parking lot.

Is the Bridge Spring Arch Hike Good for Kids?

We found the Bridge Spring Arch hike to be great for kids. Our group had 6 kids, aged 2-10 and they all did well on the hike. The climb isn’t strenuous enough that we had to carry any of the kids except the 2 year old, but that happens on any hike!

The only downside for doing this trail with small kids is getting them up on top of the arch. All of our kids except the 2 year old went on top of the arch, but it was a little nerve-wracking having them up there as there isn’t a lot of room and the dirt on the rock face can be slippery.

If you are taking kids on this hike, make sure you have enough adults that can be close by the kids while they are up on the arch.

When is it best to hike to Bridge Spring Arch?

Like most hikes in Las Vegas, anytime but summer is going to be best for hiking. However, the temperature at Bridge Spring Arch is going to more mild than Las Vegas so we had not problems with heat when we did the hike in early May.

We recommend doing this hike in the evening. The temperatures are going to be more pleasant, but you are also going to get golden glows along the rock faces and the nearby mountains.

You will want to get to the arch well before sunset, however, because it is down in a canyon a bit that loses light earlier in the evening. This will also give you time to hike out before it gets dark and you can capture some good sunset shots on the hike back.

Another benefit of hiking out during sunset is you can capture sun stars poking through the greenery and rock formations.

What else to Expect on the Bridge Springs Arch Hike

There is most of what you would expect on a hike through the desert. The trail to Bridge Springs Arch is a lot of desert, rock formations, plants and views.

When you make your first climb from the parking lot, you can catch small glimpse of Nelson’s Landing in the distance.

Most of the early part of the hike is full of great views of nearby mountains. In the evening, you will get great light on the mountains, but all your foreground will be in shadow.

Most of the hike down is in a small dry creek bed. This is nice because it keeps the kids from wandering too far and the younger ones had fun finding rocks to play with.

You will find a ton of interesting rock formations. One of our favorites was a giant rock balancing on a smaller one. There is just enough clearance for kids to climb underneath if they are brave enough.

As you start descending closer to the arch, great views open up. At some places you can even see all the way down to Lake Mojave.

For what looks like a pretty barren desert when you start the hike. There is a fair bit of plant life along this trail.

May is a great time to do the hike as you will find the cacti blooming with lots of beautiful flowers.

Even the cacti without flowers were beautiful as the sun hit their white needles.

We also found a lot of these little plants with white flower balls.

There are also plenty of little white daisies and yellow flowers along the trail.

Little plants and trees also grow all over and through the rocks along the trail.

Conclusion

We really enjoyed the hike to Bridge Springs Arch. It is great for families with small kids, who will love exploring all the fun rocks and plants along the way.

If you have been to Bridge Springs Arch, join us on Facebook to share your images and tips!