Perhaps the most popular hiking destination in America, Phantom Ranch – situated along the Bright Angel Trail and the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park – is located in one of the most awe-inspiring natural settings. The Kaibab Suspension Bridge, also called Black Bridge, is one of the more awesome man-made features still present in the area.


In 1928, the National Park Service decided it was necessary to construct the current steel cable suspension bridge. At the time, this was the only bridge to cross the Colorado River upstream of Needles, California – some 360 river miles to the south. Because no roads existed (then, or now), mules and men were needed to haul all of the construction materials down to the canyon floor. Each of the 1-ton, 550-foot steel cables was too heavy to be hauled by mules. Instead, they had to be uncoiled and stretched lengthwise atop the shoulders of 42 Havasupai Indians hiking single-file down nine miles of trail with a vertical descent of 4,000 feet. This feat was repeated eight times in order to get all of the cable moved.

To this day, hikers are dazzled by the experience of emerging from the short, dark tunnels on either side of the bridge into the heart of the Grand Canyon with the Colorado River and its rafters rushing downstream, just 65 feet below. Having the opportunity to raft below it and admire it from the canyon bottom while hikers passed overhead was a fun treat as well. The ability of visitors to cross from rim to rim has allowed for unrivaled back country experiences and the Kaibab Bridge remains a true engineering feat in such an extreme environment.