Natural Bridge State Park has been on my list for years, so I was thrilled to finally pay it a visit during my last trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you’ve never heard of Natural Bridge, it’s a beautiful park in western Virginia, best-known for its 200-foot stone “bridge” that spans a limestone gorge. It’s visually stunning and creates the perfect gateway to the Cedar Creek Trail.
Now, there is so much to do and see at Natural Bridge State Park, with over 10 miles of trails going through woodlands and meadows. But since my visit ended up being shorter than planned, I’m only going to share my first-hand experience with the park’s signature trail, Cedar Creek Trail. I’ll let you know the important details about this beautiful trail, what to know before you go, and some special details on their evening illumination event!
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Things to Know Before You Go
State parks can get a little confusing since they all seem to have different rules, admission, and amenities. So here’s what to keep in mind for a visit to Natural Bridge State Park.
Parking and Admission: First, the park has a very large, paved parking lot right outside their visitor center. This is where you’ll find the entrance to the Cedar Creek Trail and pay your admission fee of $9 per adult ($6 for kids under 13). There are restrooms here, along with some interesting information and gifts for purchase.
Best Time to Visit: You’ll always find fewer crowds when you visit in the off-season, the early morning, or late afternoon. So when I went in the fall for an afternoon hike, I more or less had the trail to myself.
How Long to Plan for: The Cedar Creek Trail is only 1 mile long. But since it isn’t a loop, you’ll end up doing 2 miles total. This should only take about an hour at a very leisurely pace, with stops for photos and enjoying the view. But where you’ll want to add some extra time is the stairs. The trail starts with 137 stairs leading down into the gorge that you’ll have to climb up at the end. If this will be challenging, add some time to take the stairs slow and/or rest before your final ascent.
And just a couple of fun facts: Natural Bridge State Park is a fairly new state park, and was privately owned until 2014. At one point (1774), Thomas Jefferson owned the bridge and surrounding land from King George III for 20 shillings, hoping to turn it into a public park, but his family had to sell it! It’s also Virginia’s 37th state park and on the National Register of Historic Places.
Exploring The Cedar Creek Trail
As I mentioned, the Cedar Creek Trail is a one-mile, moderate trail that descends into a limestone gorge before meandering through some beautiful woodlands that run alongside the Cedar Creek. It’s clearly defined, so it’s not hard to follow, but you’ll want to keep an eye out for little “side quests” along the way. The trail is a mix of asphalt to the bridge and then it changes to gravel, so keep that in mind as you choose shoes.
Your journey starts at the visitor center where you’ll officiall enter the trail from a side door and kick things off by descending the 137 stairs to gorge level. If you have accessibility needs, you can call ahead to arrange a transport down to the main trail, which is pretty flat once you get past the stairs. Once you reach the bottom, you’ll need to stop by the little outpost to show your admission receipt, and then you can continue on your way.
The Natural Bridge
Almost instantly, you’ll get a great view of the Natural Bridge spanning the gorge and the Cedar Creek. It absolutely towers over the trail and is really impressive. It’s actually the remnants of a limestone cave that got washed out by an underground river and collapsed, leaving just this “bridge” behind.
The trail goes directly beneath the bridge, and you’ll get great views of it from both sides. But keep an eye out as you pass underneath because George Washington supposedly carved his initials into the limestone wall! There is some speculation as to whether it was actually him, but I like to believe it.
Saltpeter Cave
One of the detours you can take along the trail leads over a short bridge to the Saltpetre Cave, which you can duck inside. This cave was actually mined during the Civil War for its bird and bat droppings, which were turned into nitrate “saltpetre” for gunpowder! Only the “entrance” is open for exploring, but it’s a fun little stop.
Lost River
You’ll also want to keep an eye out for the Lost River just a bit further down the trail. This undergound river was discovered around 1812, when workers at the Saltpeter Cave heard water behind the limestone. After blasting a hole to explose the river, they used pipes to transfer water from the river to their saltpeter operation.
All you can see on the surface is a hole with a bit of shallow water, but the information is pretty interesting!
Lace Falls
The trail ends at the 50-foot cascade of Lace Falls. Now, in full honesty, I was a little bit disappointed at this final view. But based on other photos I’ve seen, the falls were either blocked or just low because of rain. So, if you go after a rain period, it will probably be quite beautiful.
And honestly, the river leading away from the falls is really gorgeous, winding next to the trail with all these layered rock formations extending into the water. I enjoyed that stretch of trail a lot!
Altogether, it took me 30 minutes from the start of the stairs to reach the end of trail at Lace Falls, including stops at the bridge, cave, and underground river for photos.
Is It Worth It?
Oh, 100%. The Natural Bridge alone is incredibly impressive, but adding in those cool historic spots along the way makes it worth doing the whole trail, especially when it’s so pretty! I do wish I’d visited a little earlier in the year, maybe end of summer or beginning of fall so things were a bit greener. But it’s a very aesthetic trail, and the hardest part is really getting up and down the stairs.
So I definitely felt like I got my $9 worth, even though I only did one trail.
Don’t Miss the Evening Illumination
Now with that said, something that really added to my trip (and part of the reason I went late in the day) is an incredible tradition that’s nearly a century old! On the last Saturday of every month from April to October (plus some holiday weekends), the arch of the Natural Bridge is lit up with dozens of beautiful lights!
There are plenty of benches to sit and enjoy the view while you listen to the soft sounds of Cedar Creek flowing by.
The program “officially” runs from 8 pm to 10 pm until October, when it switches to 7 pm to 9 pm to account for the shorter days. On these evenings, the visitor center stays open late, and they have snacks for sale as well. Your standard admission includes access to the event, which I absolutely loved.
Be sure to check out their website to double-check dates and times for the current season if you want to plan your visit around this!
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Final Thoughts on the Cedar Creek Trail and Natural Bridge State Park
Although I was a bit bummed to only explore the Cedar Creek Trail, it was a fantastic introduction to the park, and it’s easy to see why it’s the most popular. But that just gives me a great reason to come and explore this trail again (maybe when it’s a bit more lush) and check out the other 9 miles of trails the park has to offer.
Thanks for stopping by the read this post! I hope you enjoyed it and that it answered any questions you have about the Cedar Creek Trail. If it was helpful, please like, save, and share it, and consider signing up for my free newsletter to get helpful posts like this once a we
And if you’re looking for more adventures around Virginia, you are in the right place! Be sure to explore the rest of my posts spanning from the sandy shores of Virginia Beach to the sprawling mountains of Shenandoah National Park and the up-and-coming SoSi Disctrict. I have dozens of approachable adventures and hidden gems from around the state that you won’t want to miss.
Thanks again for reading, and I hope you’ll be back soon. Until then, happy travels!
