Distance 4.9 km (3.0 mi) from Sk 19 Campground
Height Gain 60 m (200'); 90 m (300') return
Hiking Time 1 hr 7 min*; 1 hr 7 min return*

Trailhead The trail sign at Red Deer Lake (Sk 19) Campground

Options You can explore the meadow above the Natural Bridge. You can also hike to Drummond Creek; if you have time, you can do to Douglas Lake.

At the Natural Bridge, a striking waterfall pours through an opening in a limestone cliff. A short detour below the trail leads to the best place to see this feature. In the afternoon, the sun hits the top of the falls, but you must arrive between 9:15 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. in early July to see even a little sun below the bridge. If you continue up the trail above the waterfall and walk a few metres downstream, you see Drummond Glacier across the Red Deer Valley.

An indefinite trail proceeds up the valley towards Mt. St. Bride where Sir Norman Watson planned to build a ski hut in 1939. You can find decaying logs which were transported there and a platform for a tent used by the workers. Before construction could commence, World War II began, and the project was abandoned.

The trail is often muddy from horse traffic. You ford the Red Deer River twice, but the crossings are rarely more than knee deep. Except in high water, the first ford, between Red Deer Lake Campground and Cyclone Cabin, can be made by hopping across rocks. Avoid the mud which is like quicksand. Upstream of the second ford a log bridged the river in 1989, but was swept away next spring. It was replaced by a log downstream of the ford. A third ford, at Black Douglas Creek, is a problem only in early summer. If you have to remove your boots at these places, expect to add about 15 minutes each time.

The grade of the trail is easy to moderate all the way.

You pass Cyclone Warden Cabin where you can see a horse's head carved in relief on one of the corral posts.

Don't be surprised if you find tracks of grizzlies on the trail down the Red Deer River. This is one of their favorite routes.

Retired warden Bill Vroom recalls that years ago a grizzly approached Cyclone Cabin as warden Andy Anderson, who had a reputation for levity, watched from the porch, rifle in hand. When his wife came out to look, Anderson ordered her inside. She replied that there was no danger, since he had his gun.

"Yes," said Andy, "but I haven't got any bullets."

"If the gun isn't loaded, what good is it?"

"Well, the bear doesn't know that!" joked her husband before they entered the safety of the building.

I have seen elk, mule deer and mountain sheep near Cyclone Cabin. One deer was enjoying the horse's salt block. Marsh hawks (northern harriers), bald eagles and small falcons hunt nearby. Dippers frequent the falls at Natural Bridge.

Retired warden Jim Deegan told me that wardens used to call the unnamed stream which falls through the Natural Bridge Black Douglas Creek. (Mt. St. Bride was formerly named The Black Douglas.)

Trail Hike past Cyclone Cabin to the Natural Bridge Junction. The white arrow-shaped sign is placed rather high on a tree. The distance shown (2 1/2 miles) is inaccurate. It is 2.3 km.

Turn right at this junction, go to the Red Deer River and cross it.

The trail ascends through forest to Black Douglas Creek which you cross a kilometre before the Natural Bridge. Trees at the site obscure the arch and falls; leave the main path and take a rough trail to your right for 65 m to get a clear view.

The main trail continues above the falls, and after 275 m you come to a meadow from where you can descend to see the top of the Natural Bridge.

Trail Section
Skoki Lodge 132 min return time
Red Deer Lakes Jct. 0.4 km from; 7 min time out; 126 min return time
Baker Creek Jct. 1.9 km from; 26 min time out; 107 min return time
Baker L. Jct., Jones Cr. 3.8 km from; 50 min time out; 80 min return time
Campground Jct. 4.2 km from; 57 min time out; 71 min return time
Sk 19 Campground 4.5 km from; 60 min time out; 67 min* return time
Ford, Red Deer River 5.2 km from; 67 min* time out; 60 min return time
Cyclone Cabin 5.4 km from; 71 min time out; 56 min return time
Natural Bridge Jct. 7.1 km from; 96 min time out; 31 min* return time
Ford, Red Deer River 7.6 km from; 102 min* time out; 24 min* return time
Ford, Black Douglas Cr. 8.4 km from; 113 min* time out; 11 min return time
Natural Bridge 9.4 km from; 127 min time out
* If the fords are a problem, allow 15 minutes for each.

Watson's Cabin Site

A trail continues up the meadows below Mt. Douglas to the site where Sir Norman Watson planned to erect a ski hut. The trail becomes obscure before you get there. If you lose the way, aim for the head of the valley beneath Mt. St. Bride. Stay on the left side of the valley, crossing only a small tributary stream. As you approach the end of the valley, you near Black Douglas Creek where it comes down from a hanging valley beneath Mt. St. Bride. Watch for a prominent blaze and old stumps on the other side of the creek. The piles of logs, intended for the cabin, are beside the blazed tree, across the creek.

There are good views of Mts. Douglas, St. Bride, Oyster and Drummond from this valley.

Trail Section
Natural Bridge 15 min return time
Cabin Site 1.0* km from; 15 min time out
* Approximate distance.

"We spent a deliciously warm day in delightful laziness, the pleasing monotony of which was broken only by the taking of a few photographs and a visit to the propinquinous natural bridge, which surpasses, I think, the well-known one near Field." J.W.A. Hickson, Appalachia, 1911.